[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 21, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 21, 1994]



                 THE IMPORTANCE OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 21, 1994

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to call to the attention of my 
colleagues the contents of a recent article, entitled ``The United 
States Backs the Process of European Integration,'' which appeared in 
the International Herald Tribune. Written by Ambassador Stu Eizenstat, 
who is the U.S. Representative to the European Union, the article 
emphasizes the importance of European integration and the firm 
commitment of the European Union to a more self-reliant and independent 
Europe. I hope my colleagues find this article of interest.

       Brussels.--The U.S.-European Union summit meeting in Berlin 
     last month deserves more attention than it has received. The 
     meeting, involving President Bill Clinton, the European 
     Commission president, Jacques Delors, and Chancellor Helmut 
     Kohl of Germany (in his capacity as head of the EU's rotating 
     presidency), satisfied a requirement of the 1990 Trans-
     Atlantic Declaration for a biennial session at the highest 
     level. But it was far from ordinary or routine.
       Mr. Clinton used the meeting to send the clearest message 
     that any American president has given of unequivocal support 
     for the historic process of European integration. He stressed 
     his firm commitment not only to the European-Union as a fact 
     of life but to a stronger, more self-reliant and, at times, 
     more independent Europe as a positive force for Americans.
       The president and his administration conceive that a more 
     united Europe comes not at the expense of our bilateral ties 
     but in their augmentation. Such a Europe is in our national 
     security interests for a variety of reasons.
       The European Union reinforces Europe's democratic impulse. 
     Greece, Spain and Portugal were encouraged to shed 
     dictatorships by the prospect of membership. Germany's 
     healthy democracy has found a home imbedded in and surrounded 
     by other democracies. This, in turn, produces a more stable 
     European continent.
       The European Union is the major vehicle for French-German 
     reconciliation. Twice in this century, American lives and 
     treasure have been spent in wars between Germany and France.
       The Union provides a common address for more and more of 
     America's business with Europe, thus simplifying decision-
     making. As difficult as the Urugary Round negotiations were 
     and as formidable an interlocutor as the Union presented in 
     Sir Leon Brittan, having one person who spoke for 12 
     countries made it easier to reach the historic agreement than 
     if we had been forced to conduct multiple separate 
     negotiations.
       The stronger European economy has made Europe a more 
     attractive location for American investment. But this aspect 
     of the European Union has broader significance. As President 
     Clinton has stated, in the post-Cold War world, economics is 
     a critical element of national security policy, which cannot 
     be nearly separated from traditional security concerns. The 
     European Union, as a source of assistance to its neighbors 
     and to other regions of the globe, has a major role to play.
       An important element in this largely unreported summit 
     meeting was its emphasis on the new democracies of Central 
     and Eastern Europe. President Clinton spelled out a clear 
     vision in Berlin of the need for a divided Europe to be made 
     whole.
       EU member states pulled themselves from the ashes of World 
     War II with U.S. assistance. The president sees the vital 
     importance of now extending Western Europe's quality of life 
     to those who are emerging from communism's rubble. Ways and 
     means for more outreach to the East were discussed at the 
     summit, for example the need for improved market access for 
     goods from these nations, and greater Western investment.
       Third, the three leaders found a formula to turn what have 
     been largely episodic semiannual events, with little 
     continuity, into more substantive, interconnected sessions, 
     which can make important decisions.
       To provide follow-up to Berlin, U.S.-EU experts' groups at 
     a senior level are being set up, charged with making policy 
     recommendations for the next summit, in the first half of 
     1995 under the French presidency.
       These expert groups are to focus on how the United States 
     and the European Union can jointly strengthen the economies 
     and democracies of Central and Eastern Europe, and on how the 
     United States and the Union can better relate to each other 
     in the new areas of Union competence under the Maastricht 
     treaty, with emphasis on foreign policy and on the fight 
     against international crime and narcotics.
       The eventual form that the Union takes is up to its member 
     states and ultimately its citizens. But neither is the United 
     States a bystander. We have a stake in the outcome of the 
     great debate about Europe's future. We support a more 
     cohesive common foreign policy, an independent European 
     defense pillar in coordination with NATO, and more efficient 
     decision-making procedures.
       Practical issues of importance to average Americans and 
     Europeans were discussed in Berlin, from cooperation against 
     organized crime to how to create more jobs and economic 
     growth.
       It is now up to the Union to show that it can meet these 
     heavy responsibilities.

                          ____________________