[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[July 12, 1994]
[Pages 1242-1247]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



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The President's News Conference With European Union Leaders in Berlin, 
Germany
July 12, 1994

    President Kohl. Mr. President of the United States, Mr. President of 
the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen, first I would like to 
welcome you all very cordially in the Reichstag building in Berlin. I am 
very happy, indeed, that the joint transatlantic dialog was conducted 
here in Berlin with the delegations of the two gentlemen I just 
welcomed.
    This meeting, this dialog has taken place right after the G-7 
meeting in Naples, the G-7 meetings which were attended by four member 
states of the European Union and the President of the European 
Commission. So, a number of issues we talked about today were, in fact, 
issues that had been touched upon in Naples already to raise the issue 
of Bosnia. In Naples we talked at length about the report of the contact 
group, and we did, at the time, publish a number of statements.
    The transatlantic partnership, that is the close cooperation between 
the European Union and the United States of America, takes on special 
importance at a time in which Europe is undergoing radical change. And I 
think it's symbolic, indeed, that they're meeting today at the Reichstag 
and that we talked about this topic today at the Reichstag, a site 
within Germany where you just have to look out the window in order to 
realize that a few yards away from where we are, the division of Germany 
and Europe was reflected in the Wall, which is now gone. On this side of 
the Wall we always felt, by contrast, a special closeness between and 
among the Western democracies, a closeness, an affinity without which 
the Wall would never have come down.
    At the end of the cold war, with the fall of the Wall, Central and 
Eastern Europeans now have a chance to determine their own fate freely 
and openly. And that is why we shall call out to them from Berlin, 
saying that the European-transatlantic community is not a closed group. 
It depends on its effort and its sharing its free democratic ideas with 
all who want it. And therefore, closer cooperation with the countries of 
Eastern and Central Europe is a natural outgrowth of our talks today.
    We resolved, therefore, to set up a working group which, by the time 
of the next transatlantic summit, which would be less than 10 months 
from now, this summit would be chaired by the French Presidency, which 
by that time would submit a draft containing coordinated procedures for 
the United States and the European Union in intensifying relations with 
the Central and Eastern European states.
    All of us--and we talked about that today--must jointly remember 
that there remains a great deal to be done, and we must ask ourselves 
what can we do in order to secure the free and democratic ways of the 
United States and the European Union and to protect them from the 
increasing stress emanating from organized crime and the drug mafia. We 
talked about that, too, today. And we talked about setting up a working 
group that will deal with these issues. And at the end of our meeting 
this morning we asked our staff to go right ahead and not only review 
the situation but submit important programs as soon as possible.
    And in conclusion, I would like to say that we plan to further 
deepen and intensify the cooperation between the European Union member 
states and the United States of America. We want to do it in every 
possible way.
    Yesterday I talked about the German-American relations, and I said 
something which I could repeat with a somewhat different emphasis.
    For decades we talked about the transatlantic bridge ensuring our 
security. We know today that we have to add a couple of components to 
that bridge. We have to add the components of economic cooperation, 
cooperation in the cultural area, and cooperation also in the area of 
bringing our young people closer together. And in that sense I think 
today's dialog has opened up a number of prospects for our future work, 
and we're going to act accordingly.
    President Delors. Ladies and gentlemen, as the Chancellor has just 
said to you, this meeting which is taking place in the context of the 
Transatlantic Declaration has made it possible for us, I hope, at least, 
to inject a more practical and operational substance into relations 
between

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the United States and the European Union and this, of course, without 
creating any new bureaucracy.
    Chancellor Kohl has indicated to you the two points on which there 
will be a joint followup: first, the development of the countries of 
Central and Eastern Europe and, secondly, the fight against organized 
crime and drug trafficking.
    Moreover, we shall pursue our dialog on economic matters which we 
began with President Clinton in January on the occasion of our last 
meeting. We shall continue this. Thanks to the successful holding by the 
American authorities of the Detroit conference, we shall seek to fight 
against unemployment, making possible for everyone to have a worthwhile 
job in society so that there should also be a greater prosperity in what 
is an increasingly interdependent world. We have to work together, and 
we shall do this in the followup to the Naples summit by organizing in 
Brussels a new conference, on the Detroit model, devoted to the 
information society: what we, the United States and Europe, can expect 
of this in terms of the creation of jobs, in terms of the consequences 
on the organization of work and on the very organization of society. And 
of course, in order to prepare for this, we will have to look at what we 
have to do in terms of education and lifelong training, in terms of the 
organization of our towns and cities in particular, as well.
    And finally, you know that in Naples, at the request of President 
Clinton, the 7 decided to devote particular attention to Ukraine. An 
amount was even set at the request of President Clinton, an amount 
evaluated as being what should be given in the form of aid. And today, 
we decided to monitor the situation together as a result of the 
Presidential elections so that on the basis of a joint examination we 
should be able to help this country get out of its serious economic, 
political, institutional, and social difficulty.
    So you see that the Transatlantic Declaration has got to a new 
phase, a more operational phase, and one of more friendly and tighter 
relations.
    Thank you.
    President Clinton. Thank you very much, Chancellor Kohl and 
President Delors. Ladies and gentlemen, the United States strongly 
supports the European Union. Throughout my entire administration I have 
advocated the cause of European union. I believe our best partner, as we 
look toward the 21st century for prosperity and for peace, is a Europe 
united in democracy, in free markets, in common security. We have 
supported that, and we will continue to support it.
    We agreed here today to try to do something that is potentially of 
real significance in terms of this developing partnership between the 
United States and the EU and that is to set up a group of experts who 
can put some framework, some meat on the bones of our declarations on 
two areas. And you've heard them mentioned already, but I want to 
reemphasize them.
    The first is the need to strengthen our cooperation and coordination 
in our support for reform and democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. 
That is all the more important, I think, to all of us in view of the 
difficulties and challenges these nations are facing, and certainly it's 
been vividly impressed upon me on my recent trips to Latvia and to 
Poland.
    The second thing that we agreed to do is to coordinate better our 
efforts in dealing with security issues and especially with organized 
crime, drug trafficking, money laundering. These things now know no 
national borders. The FBI Director from the United States, Mr. Freeh, 
just recently made what was a highly acclaimed trip, first to Berlin and 
then going on to Moscow. President Yeltsin was very intent on following 
this up when we met with him in Naples. We think this is one area that 
we can work together on and really do something that will benefit the 
citizens of our nations, in Europe and in the United States.
    Finally, let me just say that I want to particularly applaud 
President Delors for the white paper he issued on jobs and growth in the 
European Union that complemented and gave so much energy to the jobs 
conference we held in Detroit. We talked quite a bit today about how we 
can further develop our cooperation to generate more jobs and higher 
incomes.
    And I will just close with this point. There are a lot of people who 
really believe that there is simply a limit to the ability of wealthy 
countries to generate jobs and incomes as we move toward the 21st 
century and there's so much more global economic competition. I do not 
believe that, not if we're committed to adapting our work forces, not if 
we're committing to expanding the barriers--I mean, tearing down the 
barriers to trade and expanding trade--and to

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the new technologies that will permit exponential growth, like the 
information superhighway and environmental technology. So we had a very 
good meeting; I'm very satisfied with it. I feel finally now we have not 
only recognized the fact of European union in our cooperation but 
actually developed a system in which we can do things together that will 
make a difference to the ordinary citizens of our countries.

German Armed Forces

    Q. [Inaudible]--how they feel about the decision just handed down by 
the German high court permitting German armed forces to participate in 
peacekeeping operations outside the country?
    President Kohl. First, I'll have to ask your understanding for the 
fact that I can't really assess the ruling because, after all, in Berlin 
here I don't know all the details involving the ruling. But I'm very 
happy about that ruling; there's no doubt about it, because it indicates 
very clearly that the highest German court, which is the guardian of our 
constitution, has determined that one of the missions would be in 
accordance with our constitution. I've always argued that; my government 
has always argued that.
    We were given an indication by the court that such a mission would 
require a simple majority in the Bundestag. That's not very surprising 
to me, either, because I cannot imagine how any head of government of 
the Federal Republic would initiate such a mission without having the 
appropriate majority in the Parliament.
    So I think what was decided there is fully in accordance with the 
constitution and with the view of the federal government. What's going 
to come out of that in the future is something that we'll have to 
examine in each individual case on a case-by-case basis.
    If you look at the history during this century, especially German 
history, you'll have to pay some attention to that. But we are members 
of the United Nations. And if we claim the rights that membership 
entails, we will have to live up to our responsibilities. I think it's 
unacceptable and not in line with the dignity of our country for us to 
stand aside and refuse to take on responsibility. So I'm happy about the 
ruling. But that's really not the main issue for the press conference.
    One more question and then we will ask our guests.
    Q. Mr. Chancellor, couldn't you say a little more about the criteria 
which the federal armed forces will base its missions on? France has 
requested that the Eurocorps might be sent to Africa. Is that something 
you have in mind? What would be the concrete repercussions as far as 
German foreign policy is concerned?
    President Kohl. I've given a great deal of thought to this; I've 
thought in concrete terms. But please understand this is a very 
fundamental and important question, and I would prefer to talk with my 
colleagues in the Cabinet about the ruling as a whole, and then we'll 
make a public statement. It makes no sense for you to keep on asking 
questions as to ``What will you do if''; I won't say anything on that. 
There you go.

Haiti

    Q. Then, Mr. President, may I ask you about what your administration 
has called a serious escalation in Haiti and whether you feel that this 
now moves us closer to a military option, whether this makes it much 
more difficult for international observers of any kind to know what is 
really happening on the ground there?
    President Clinton. Well, let me say, first of all, that what 
happened in Haiti yesterday puts in stark relief the human rights abuses 
that we have been talking about for some time now, the killing, the 
maiming, the rapes. Throwing the monitors out is just the latest 
expression of the desperation of that illegal regime and their desire to 
hide their conduct.
    All I can say today is that I hope that this action will stiffen the 
will of the international community to support the United States in the 
strongest possible enforcement of the sanctions, including freezing the 
assets of the military and the elites supporting them. We have got to 
bring an end to this, and I think that, surely to goodness, the throwing 
out of the monitors will illustrate to the whole world that what we have 
been saying all along is true: This is not only an illegal but a highly 
oppressive regime, and we have to keep the pressure up.
    Q. Mr. President, to follow, do you think that that will make it 
easier to make your case if it turns out that you do have to take the 
military route?

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    President Clinton. Well, I think it certainly validates the position 
I've taken so far, that that is an option we shouldn't rule out.
    Q. Regarding Haiti, as you know, most of the generals at the 
Pentagon say it would not be a difficult operation to go in and 
overthrow the military regime there. What they're concerned about is an 
exit strategy, that the U.S. would not have to keep forces there for a 
prolonged period of time, that there would be other countries willing to 
participate in some sort of peacekeeping operation. Do you have any 
assurances there are other countries that would be willing to go in 
after a U.S. invasion to help out, and did you get any assurances from 
the European allies?
    President Clinton. Well, let me just say that there are two issues; 
there have always been two issues there. One is the one you have just 
outlined, which is that the last time the United States went to Haiti we 
stayed for, I think, 19 years. And that is a totally inappropriate thing 
to do in a world in which international organizations exist and, 
particularly, a United Nations exists for the purpose of working with 
countries in trouble that need help.
    Are there nations who have said that they would be a part of a 
United Nations mission? Yes, there are. But that leads you to the second 
question, which is that the United States has always--and we talked 
about this way back in May--the United States has always been basically 
moving back and forth between a Monroe Doctrine-type approach, for 200 
years, in the Caribbean and Latin America and a good neighbor-type 
approach.
    The people of Latin America, the people of the Caribbean obviously 
want us to cooperate with them; they want us to be friends and 
neighbors. They know we're the biggest country in the region. They want 
any kind of unilateral action by the United States to come only as a 
last resort. And they have reservations about it as you would expect 
they would. So Mr. Gray, one of the things that he has been doing so 
well is to try to consult with all of our partners and friends in the 
region and to try as far as we possibly can to, first of all, explore 
all alternatives and, secondly, have everyone going in lockstep and let 
everyone know what the United States intention and objective is. Our 
only objective is to restore democracy in Haiti and stop those poor 
people from being killed and tortured and raped and starved and 
basically deprived of the decency of an ordinary life.

German Leadership

    Q. Mr. President, please permit me, a German journalist, to revisit 
a question that has to do with Germany taking on a greater role, taking 
more responsibility in the world. On that point, you are in agreement 
with Chancellor Kohl. Now, does the idea of German armed forces being 
involved in peacekeeping missions outside NATO, does that mean that you 
are totally comfortable with that? Aren't you the least bit 
uncomfortable thinking about that? And could it also mean that you could 
imagine German forces being involved in missions of the kind we had 2 
years ago in the Gulf, for instance? Would that be all right?
    President Clinton. I am completely comfortable with that. And of 
course, I can envision German forces being involved in something like 
the United Nations effort in the Gulf. Why? Because of the leadership of 
Germany, because of the conduct of Germany, because of the role Germany 
has played in developing the European Union, because of the values 
Germany has demonstrated in taking hundreds of thousands of refugees 
from Bosnia. Germany, now united is--yes, it's the largest country in 
Europe in terms of population and its economic strength. But Germany has 
been the leader in pushing for the integration of Europe, for the 
sharing of power among the European nations, and for setting a standard 
for humane conduct and support for democracy and diversity. So, the 
answer to that question is, yes, I am comfortable with that.
    President Kohl. One minute, I would like to add something, if I may. 
I feel a tendency here among you to somehow apply the constitutional 
court decision to the Gulf war. Since that is so, I would like to say 
that we will be deciding on the case-by-case basis with the majority in 
Parliament and that following the court's ruling, we are not feeling 
that the Germans are now rushing to the front. I'd like to say that 
emphatically because I know my fellow citizens, some of my fellow 
citizens, and I think it's therefore an important statement for me to 
make.
    President Clinton. Maybe I could make one little statement about 
this. I think all of us want to play a constructive role where we can. 
But we have learned not only the potential but also the limits of 
military power in the 20th century. And the United Nations is trying to 
work

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through what can be done on a humanitarian basis, what can be done in 
the way of a peacekeeping mission, what conditions have to exist in 
countries in order for peacekeeping missions to succeed. So I think it 
is important that the German people, the American people, any others 
paying attention to this press conference, not believe that there is 
some cavalier eagerness to use military power in an undisciplined way 
which might cause a lot of problems.
    President Kohl. Thank you.

North Korea

    Q. Mr. President, I wanted to ask if you have any news for us today 
on the situation in North Korea, if anything has changed, and whether 
you have any response to comments that have been made in the U.S. that 
there possibly is a sense by some in North Korea that the idea of 
progressing toward progress on communication with the outside world 
should be halted.
    President Clinton. Well, we are watching it very closely. We are 
concerned about what might happen, obviously. My position on that is the 
same that it has been from the very beginning, that that is a decision 
for them to make and their future is in their hands.
    But we believe it is in their interest and in our interest for them 
to continue to freeze the elements of their nuclear program and for us 
to resume the talks. We hope that is what they will do. In the 
meanwhile, we will monitor the facts in North Korea on the nuclear 
program. That is where we are. The next move basically is in their 
court.
    Q. Do you have any feelings at all from anyone in the government at 
this point, sir?
    President Clinton. No, only the communications we've had in 
Switzerland with regard to the talks. And those so far have been 
satisfactory and not out of the ordinary. So we basically have no 
indication one way or the other at this moment. So what we need to do is 
to simply be vigilant, to simply--to look at the facts. And it's not 
useful to speculate, I think, certainly not in a naive way that would be 
excessively hopeful but also not in an unduly negative way. Let's just 
look at the facts and judge this situation based on the facts as they 
develop.

Partnership For Peace and NATO

    Q. You agree then that relations with the Central Eastern European 
countries should be improved. Given that fact, do you think the timeline 
of Poland being a member by 2000 is realistic? Do you think that's a 
realistic prospect to hold out?
    President Clinton. I'd like to make two points in response to that 
question. First of all, Chancellor Kohl and I have discussed this a bit 
and in our personal meetings. The NATO members themselves will have to 
get together and begin to discuss what the timeline ought to be and what 
the criteria for membership ought to be.
    But the first and most important thing to do is to make a success of 
the Partnership For Peace. The Partnership For Peace, I think it's fair 
to say, has succeeded already beyond the expectations of those of us who 
proposed it at the first of the year. We have 21 nations signed up, 19 
from the republics of the former Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact 
countries; two, Sweden and Finland, that were previously neutral are not 
involved in NATO.
    In order to sign up, all those countries agreed to respect each 
other's borders and agreed to cooperate militarily to preserve the 
integrity of those borders. We will have our first military exercises in 
Poland in September. So that's my first point. I think we have to 
strengthen the Partnership For Peace and discuss a timeline.
    To the Poles, I will say to you what I said to them directly: They 
have certainly shown the greatest interest in this issue, the greatest 
determination to do their full part, and I think have virtually assured 
that they are at the front of the line as NATO will be expanded, which 
it surely will be. We just have to get together and work out the 
details. It's not for me as the American President to say what the 
details should be.

Baltic Nations and Russia

    Q. Mr. President, are you happy with the result of your visit to the 
Baltic countries? What do you think the next step should be there for 
that country getting rid of the Russian troops at long last?
    President Clinton. Well, yes, I was very happy with my trip to the 
Baltics and with the meeting I had with all three Presidents. I am 
comfortable that in Latvia the Russian troops will be withdrawn by 
August 31st and that the controversy over the citizenship law there is 
being worked out, at least worked on.
    In Estonia, I have passed along a message from President Meri to 
President Yeltsin. In Naples, we discussed it in considerable detail

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in our private meeting, and President Yeltsin promised that for the 
first time he would actually meet personally with President Meri and 
make a good faith effort to work this out. I still think that the troops 
could be able to be withdrawn from Estonia, as well, by the end of 
August if the last remaining disputes--there are three areas of 
disputes--could be resolved. And we will continue to stay on top of 
that. We have agreed to work together on encouraging a resolution to 
that, and I think it can be done.

Note: The President's 66th news conference began at 11:15 a.m. in the 
East Hall at the Reichstag where he met with Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 
his capacity as President, European Council, and Jacques Delors, 
President, European Commission. Chancellor Kohl spoke in German, and 
President Delors spoke in French, and their remarks were translated by 
an interpreter.