*Administration of Barack Obama, 2011 *

**Remarks Following a European Union-United States Summit **

*November 28, 2011 *

Good afternoon, everybody. I am very pleased to welcome Presidents Van Rompuy and Barroso to the White House. We have had several occasions to meet over the last year, but this is the first formal U.S.-EU summit that we've had an opportunity to have since the Lisbon summit last year.

Of course, much has changed over the last year. We've seen the incredible transformations that have been taking place throughout North Africa and the Middle East. What hasn't changed, though, is the fundamental bonds that exist between the European Union and the United States. Our common values, our common belief in the rule of law, in democracy, in freedom, in a free market system, all those things bind us together, as do the extraordinary economic and commercial relationships that we have and the people-to-people relationships that we have.

And so this is an extraordinarily important relationship. These aren't always the most dramatic meetings because we agree on so much that sometimes it's hard to make news. As the world's two largest economies and as each other's most important trading partners, we spent a lot of time focusing on how we can continue to grow our economies and create good jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. A large part of that conversation obviously revolved around the euro zone crisis, and Presidents Van Rompuy and Barroso have been very actively engaged with the heads of government and heads of state in Europe to try to resolve this crisis. I communicated to them that the United States stands ready to do our part to help them resolve this issue. This is of huge importance to our own economy. If Europe is contracting or if Europe is having difficulties, then it's much more difficult for us to create good jobs here at home because we send so many of our products and services to Europe; it is such an important trading partner for us.

And so we've got a stake in their success, and we will continue to work in a constructive way to try to resolve this issue in the near future. And I appreciate the leadership of both these gentlemen in trying to address this in a clear and forthright way.

With regard to security cooperation, we agreed to make sure that we continue to place pressure on the Iranian regime to stand down when it comes to the development of nuclear weapons, emphasizing that we continue to hope for a diplomatic resolution that allows them to use peaceful nuclear energy in a way that's consistent with their international obligations.

We have a shared stake in continued progress in Afghanistan, where the EU serves as a leading donor, and next week's Bonn conference will be an opportunity to make sure our security and development agenda is sustainable.

Meanwhile, with respect to aviation security, the EU has been extraordinarily cooperative, and in particular, thanks to the leadership of President Barroso and President Van Rompuy, we've been able to make progress in exchanging intelligence information that can keep our passengers safe and assure that we are preventing any kind of terrorist activity from taking place.

Finally, as global partners in support of universal values, we spent a lot of time discussing how we can be supportive of the best elements of what's taking place in North Africa and the Middle East, continuing to encourage democracy, continuing to encourage transparency, continuing to encourage economic development because we've both agreed that the aspirations that were expressed in Egypt and Tunisia and in Libya are not simply political issues, but they're also economic issues, and that we have to do everything we can to support increased opportunity for young people. These are very young populations, and if they have a sense of a future for themselves where they can work hard and use their skills and talents to develop themselves and support their families, then the likelihood of a successful political transition will exist as well.

Of course, these problems don't only exist in the Middle East and North Africa. We discussed, for example, the situation in Belarus, where we stand shoulder to soldier—shoulder in wanting to see a return to the rule of law and the flowering of democratic practices there; in the Ukraine, where we agree that we want Ukraine to continue down a reform path, and we want to do everything we can to encourage that.

And so both on security issues, as well as on economic issues, we could not have a closer partner than the European Union. There are many issues that don't get a lot of attention, for example, our cooperation on clean energy and green jobs, our continued exploration of ways where we can get increased regulatory cooperation that can facilitate increased commercial ties, a whole range of work that's done by both the European Council and the European Commission that benefits our peoples directly in a multitude of ways.

And so I'm very much appreciative of the partnership that I've formed with these two gentlemen. I hope they have a good visit. I understand they're going to be going to Capitol Hill, and I'm sure they'll receive a warm reception from the Senate majority leader. And I hope that they have a good, albeit brief, visit.

So thank you.

NOTE: The President spoke at 2:01 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to President Herman Van Rompuy of the European Council; and President Jose Manual Durao Barroso of the European Commission. The transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of Presidents Van Rompuy and Barroso.

*Categories:* Addresses and Remarks : European Union-U.S. summit*.*

*Locations: *Washington, DC.

*Names:* Barroso, Jose Manuel Durao; Reid, Harry M.; Van Rompuy, Herman*.*

*Subjects:* Aviation : Air travel security measures, expansion; Belarus : Democracy efforts; Commerce, international : Global financial markets :: Stabilization efforts; Congress : Senate :: Majority leader; Egypt : Democracy efforts; Employment and unemployment : Job creation and growth; Europe : Afghanistan :: European military forces, deployment; Europe : Economic growth and development; Europe : European Union :: Common foreign and security policy; Europe : European Union :: European Commission President; Europe : European Union :: European Council President; Europe : European Union :: Summit; Europe : Financial markets :: Unrest; Europe : Relations with U.S.; Europe : Relations with U.S. ; Europe : Trade with U.S.; Foreign policy, U.S. : Democratization ; Foreign policy, U.S. : Open government and transparency, promotion efforts; Iran : International diplomatic efforts; Iran : Nuclear weapons development; Libya : Democracy efforts; Middle East : Democracy efforts; North Africa : Democracy efforts; Portugal : President Obama's visit; Terrorism : Counterterrorism efforts; Tunisia : Democracy efforts; Ukraine : Democracy efforts.

*DCPD Number:* DCPD201100907.