    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [May 28, 1997]
    [Pages 659-664]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With European Union Leaders in
    The Hague, The Netherlands
    May 28, 1997

        Prime Minister Kok. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm very glad to say that
    President Clinton and President Santer and I have had very productive
    and fruitful discussions this morning in the framework of our semiannual
    EU-U.S. summit on the new transatlantic agenda, including the
    transatlantic marketplace and a wide range of other issues. We have been
    making very good progress in implementing the new transatlantic agenda
    since its adoption, now 1\1/2\ years ago.
        We achieved a number of concrete results. I'll mention a few of
    them. This morning an agreement will be signed on the control on
    chemical precursors for drugs. This means an important step towards
    better controlling substances that are used for the production of
    synthetic drugs. We decided to step up our operation in the fight
    against drug trafficking in the Caribbean. This included joint studies
    on maritime cooperation, exchange of information and equipment, and
    training of police and judicial authorities.
        Negotiations have been concluded for the EU to join the U.S., Japan,
    and South Korea in the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization,
    KEDO, underlining our global responsibilities and shared commitment to
    strengthen nonproliferation efforts.
        In the context of the transatlantic marketplace, we will sign an
    agreement on customs cooperation that will facilitate trade and
    contribute to the fight against fraud and corruption. We also reached
    agreement on veterinary inspections, thus preventing a trade conflict
    that might otherwise have arisen on the export of meat products. And
    furthermore, we are very close to a common understanding with regard to
    the mutual recognition of norms and standards of products, the so-called
    mutual recognition agreements. I hope that we will be able to tie up
    these discussions in a few days' time.
        We have implemented the small-business initiative which bridges
    European and American small- and medium-sized enterprises by means of
    linking better business and organizing joint events. We agreed on an
    awards program to encourage democracy in civil society across the
    Continent of Europe. And apart from these agreements, we discussed a
    number of specific foreign policy issues.
        We looked back briefly on our historic meeting in Paris yesterday
    where we signed the NATO-Russia Founding Act, and we looked at some
    important meetings ahead of us, firstly, the G-7 meeting--or G-8--in
    Denver, the special session of the U.N. General Assembly on the
    environment in New York, and the NATO summit in Madrid, which is 2
    months from now. And I informed President Clinton yesterday already
    about the main elements of the upcoming European summit in Amsterdam.

    [[Page 660]]

        We have had a brief meeting with representatives of the
    Transatlantic Business Dialogue. They presented us with an interim
    report that provides us with useful building blocks and inspiration to
    explore further possibilities of liberalizing trade and investment
    flows.
        In my view, ladies and gentlemen, this summit not only signifies a
    strong reconfirmation of the close ties between the United States and
    the European Union, it also provides a new impetus to our relationship
    both economically and politically. There is a lot that binds us and
    little that divides us. President Clinton has been very clear in
    reconfirming the strong American bonds with Europe.
        This morning we have carried forward our transatlantic partnership,
    a partnership that we will celebrate this afternoon during the
    commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Marshall plan. It has been
    very inspiring, indeed, to find once again that we share common agendas,
    common values, and common goals in preparing the international community
    for the 21st century.
        So I am grateful, after the session we had, both for the substantial
    progress we have been making and for the atmosphere, the climate of
    cooperation between the United States and the European Union, because we
    know sometimes there are some minor or major problems we have to solve,
    but the positive agenda--the positive agenda--in order to shape the
    future together in the benefit of our children and grandchildren, is of
    key importance for the two of us. So I'm grateful to President Clinton
    for his presence, his contribution, and this is the end of my
    presentation.
        Thank you very much.
        President Clinton. Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Let me begin
    by thanking you and the people of The Netherlands for the warm welcome
    you have given to Hillary, to me, to our entire delegation, including
    the Secretary of State, Secretary of Commerce, three Members of the
    United States Congress who are with me and are sitting there on the
    front row, Senator Smith and Congresswoman Pelosi and Congressman
    McHugh. We are all delighted to be here.
        And I think it is very fitting that our summit is taking place in
    The Netherlands as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Marshall
    plan. In many ways, The Netherlands sets the model for helping fellow
    nations secure freedom and prosperity.
        Two hundred years ago, the Dutch extended loans that saved the young
    United States from bankruptcy. By the end of that decade, 200 years ago,
    fully half our national debt was owed to you. [Laughter] I trust we have
    paid it since then. [Laughter] In our century, the United States was
    proud to return the gesture. The Marshall plan, about which I'll have
    more to say later today, helped to lay the foundation for an Atlantic
    community of democracies. It planted the seeds of institutions that
    reconciled enemies and brought Western Europe together, from NATO to the
    OECD to the European Union, today one of our most valued partners.
        The Netherlands, as current president of the European Union, once
    again is leading the way as the EU carries forward its historic mission:
    building the union between its members and reaching out to expand to
    Central and Eastern Europe. A more prosperous, a more united Europe will
    not only be a stronger Europe, it will be a stronger partner for the
    United States in the 21st century.
        Through our work here, we have taken another step on the path that
    began with General Marshall's vision, working with the people of Bosnia
    to help peace take root, recognizing that we must do more to speed up
    the pace of economic reconstruction, increase funding for police
    training and monitors, work to ensure successful municipal elections and
    to ensure the ultimate effectiveness of the War Crimes Tribunal located
    here in your nation, in this city. The Dayton agreement was a good one;
    we have to make sure that it works.
        Under our new transatlantic agenda, the newest offspring of the
    Marshall spirit, which was created 18 months ago in Madrid, we're
    cooperating on a broad range of common challenges, bringing down trade
    barriers, fighting international crime and terrorism and nuclear
    proliferation and drug trafficking. Today we agreed to intensify our
    cooperation against a new problem that we face, the increasing practice
    of trafficking in women, which re-creates, in an entirely different
    context, almost a new kind of modern day slavery. And we intend to do
    what we can to stop it.
        I'm pleased that we're advancing on our goal of reducing trade
    barriers. The Prime Minister has already commented, but I'd like to
    point

    [[Page 661]]

    out that just in the last 6 months we have completed agreements on
    information technologies and telecommunications that lower trade
    barriers on over $1 trillion in goods and services in a way that will
    cut the costs of living, increase the productivity of business, and
    create huge numbers of new, good-paying jobs in both Europe and the
    United States.
        We've made progress on virtually all the outstanding issues, in
    difficult negotiations, on mutual recognition of each other's standards
    and testing requirements. This is very important, and I can't add to
    what the Prime Minister has said. We feel we have a breakthrough, and we
    hope it will lead to an agreement in the next few days. That would
    abolish redundant testing and inspection on a broad range of products
    worth $40 billion in annual trade.
        I thank the European Union for the work we have done today to
    strengthen our fights to keep illegal drugs out of our neighborhoods by
    agreeing to control the chemicals used to make a broad range of these
    drugs. This is a terribly important agreement.
        And we've also agreed to increase our customs cooperation to fight
    fraud, to streamline trade. And again, Mr. Prime Minister and President
    Santer, let me thank you for the decision by the EU to join in the
    Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization. This will help us to
    make good on our commitment to freeze and eventually to dismantle North
    Korea's dangerous nuclear program.
        Today we're also announcing a joint U.S.-EU awards program for
    communities, individuals, and nongovernmental organizations that promote
    grassroots democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. This will help to
    deepen the commitment to freedom as we work to build an undivided
    continent.
        Finally, let me say the United States is grateful to the leaders of
    the European Union for making this progress possible, for building on
    the legacy that General Marshall began, for strengthening our
    partnership for democracy and prosperity as we confront the challenges
    of the 21st century.
        Thank you very much.
        President Santer. Prime Minister, Mr. President, ladies and
    gentlemen, I am happy to note that today's meeting has seen further
    progress in cementing the relationship between the European Union and
    the United States. Our trade and investment partnership is the largest
    in the world. Our stock of investment in each other's markets stands at
    $650 billion. Annual two-way trade in goods and services between us
    counts for some $400 billion. This is a formidable asset, and we are
    determined to develop it even further.
        We have made good progress since our last meeting in December. We
    have worked successfully together in the WTO to ensure the conclusion of
    two major multilateral agreements, the information technology and basic
    telecommunications agreements. We have together liberalized trade in
    goods and services worth approximately $1 trillion dollars. In the same
    spirit of joint leadership, we should now work towards a successful
    conclusion of a financial services agreement by the agreed deadline.
        We shall be signing two important agreements this morning. The
    chemical precursor agreement is designed to curb the diversion of
    chemicals used in the manufacture of illicit drugs. The customs
    cooperation agreement will facilitate trade and help combat fraud. We
    have also noted good progress in our negotiations on a mutual
    recognition agreement which will bring enormous trade benefits to both
    sides. We hope to be able, as the President expressed also, to conclude
    the agreement within the next few days.
        These are concrete examples of what we set out to achieve when we
    agreed on our new transatlantic agenda in December 1995. But the picture
    of our enhanced cooperation and joint action is even richer. Whether on
    foreign policy issues, multilateral trade, ties in many areas, social,
    scientific, educational, cultural, as well as in global challenges like
    terrorism, we are determined to make further progress under each of
    those, and we will take stock at our next summit at the end of the year.
        Our meeting has taken place against the background of commemorations
    which I consider to be of great significance. This afternoon we will
    commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Marshall plan. The United States
    helped Western Europe to get back on its feet and regenerate after a
    devastating war. We Europeans have not forgotten this invaluable support
    given by the United States.
        Last month in Rome, we commemorated the start, 40 years ago, of the
    European Economic Community. The original community of six member states
    decided in 1957 that they had to help themselves by rooting out war
    among

    [[Page 662]]

    them and by pledging a closer integration and solidarity. The 6 have
    become today's European Union of 15, a strong and dynamic partner of the
    United States. And together, we have on many occasions shown the way
    forward.
        And yesterday in Paris, with the signing of an agreement between
    NATO and Russia, we have entered a new era of hope, of cooperation, of
    peace and security. The United States has played a crucial role in
    achieving this result. The European Union is making its own contribution
    to the reconstruction of Central and Eastern Europe and the former
    Soviet Union through massive help, some $160 billion for the period
    between 1990 and the end of the century, almost twice what was given
    under the Marshall plan, but its most significant contribution will be
    the welcoming Central and Eastern European countries as members of the
    European Union.
        I believe that these reminders show the essential importance of the
    relationship between the European Union and the United States. For each
    of us and for the world at large, let's not forget that whenever we have
    to deal with bilateral difficulties, they are inevitable in such a vast
    relationship. We have solved them in the past; we will in the future.
        Thank you.

    Single European Currency

        Q.  A question, if I may, for President Clinton. Mr. President,
    you've referred in your reference to the 50th anniversary of the
    Marshall plan, the impetus it gave towards the beginnings of greater
    European unity. How important, in your view, is the planned move to a
    single European currency to help achieve that goal, even foreseen 50
    years ago, to achieve that goal of a closer European Union?
        President Clinton. Well, first of all, the decision to do that and
    the mechanics of how to do it is a decision that has to be left to the
    members of the Union. The United States position--let me restate it
    because I feel it very strongly, and I tried to clarify it as soon as I
    got elected and assumed office--is that a more integrated, more closely
    cooperating Europe with fewer barriers to trade, to communications, to
    travel, to working together is a good thing for Europe and a good thing
    for the United States and, therefore, a good thing for the world.
        How to do that, in what order, and by what steps, I think still
    should be decisions for the Europeans to make, and I think it would be,
    frankly, not appropriate for the United States to go much further than I
    have gone in this. I think it's clear that I support European
    integration, and I've wanted to make that clear because we not only are
    not threatened by it, we are excited by it and want to support it. But
    beyond that, I think it's up to you to decide how to do it and on what
    timetable.

    New Marshall Plan for Eastern Europe

        Q. Mr. President, do you support the initiative of the Dutch Prime
    Minister for a more or less new Marshall plan for Eastern Europe, and do
    you see a specific role for the U.S. in this?
        President Clinton. Well, we have together seen in the last few
    years--I believe this is roughly accurate--about $50 billion in various
    kinds of funds go into the Central and Eastern European nations, mostly
    through international financial institutions, and nearly that amount now
    in private investment. And I believe it is very important that we
    continue this process.
        We can't simply say to these countries, ``We want you to be for
    democracy and we want you to have a democracy and we want you to support
    economic reform, and good luck,'' because there is an enormous gap
    between the poorest countries on the Continent and those that aren't,
    and between their infrastructures and, therefore, their capacity to
    grow. And I think that's one thing that's easily overlooked. If you
    compare this time, say, to 50 years ago--and the Prime Minister might
    want to comment on this--but, yes, Europe was in ruins, but Europe had
    also been at the pinnacle of the global economy with lots of people who
    knew how to rebuild economies and lots of people who understood how to
    put in place the building blocks. That was wiped away from a lot of
    these countries in Central and Eastern Europe for half a century.
        So do I think we need to do more? Yes, I do. And am I prepared to
    support that? Of course I am. You know, we'd have to get into the
    details, but basically I think the Prime Minister is wise in trying to
    make sure that we don't just walk away from these nations with an
    encouragement toward economic reform and democracy and just assume that
    everything is going to be all right. We're going to have to continue to
    be engaged.
        Q. A question for President Clinton and for Mr. Kok. Are there
    already--can we talk about

    [[Page 663]]

    a new Marshall plan for Eastern Europe? Are there already rough lines?
    Is there any frame? I mean, are we now on a point which goes further
    than general ideas?
        Prime Minister Kok. Well, could I say, perhaps, a few words on this?
    First of all, we should not underestimate what has been done and what is
    done nowadays in the multilateral institutions. We have the European
    Bank for Reconstruction and Development, where not only European
    countries but also the United States participates. We have the World
    Bank and IMF activities. We have a lot of EU financial and political and
    economic activities giving support to the development in the Central and
    Eastern European economies. So it would be a mistake to think that until
    now, never has been done and that we just create an idea here. That
    would be wrong.
        But taking the experience of the Marshall plan into account 50 years
    ago--50 years ago and the period afterwards--we see that perhaps on top
    of what is already done, new initiatives can be taken also to bring more
    private investment capital to the development of the Eastern and Central
    European countries. We are not just for mainly talking about taxpayers'
    money; we are also talking about bringing private capital in order--for
    example, to have huge infrastructural projects. Infrastructure connects
    people.
        We see that bringing the new countries in closer to Europe, to the
    countries of the European Union, it is in their and our benefits to make
    an effort to organize creativity. And on top of what is done, I think
    new initiatives should be taken, but it could be a terrible mistake to
    think that this is only a new idea. I mean, you are already bringing it,
    to a large extent, into pass.
        President Clinton. I would just like to support what the Prime
    Minister has said. I believe the numbers I'm about to give you are
    right; if they're wrong, I'll stand corrected. I think in today's
    dollars, in today's dollars the value of the Marshall plan investments
    in Europe were about $88 billion. I think that's right. Now, we have
    seen the international financial institutions commit about $50 billion
    already to the former Communist countries, plus about $45 billion in
    private investment.
        I think that most of what still needs to be done is to accelerate
    the pace of private investment. And it's very different in different
    countries. If you look at Poland, for example, I think their growth rate
    must be about the highest in Europe now, and about 9 in 10 of the retail
    projects in Poland, retail outlets, are already in private hands. Russia
    has largely privatized huge chunks of its economy.
        But what I think we have to do is to work with each country and look
    at, first of all, what are the laws, have the laws been changed so that
    we can float private capital into these countries and have them develop;
    secondly, what kinds of public investments--hopefully, most of them
    multinational public investments through the multinational
    institutions--still need to be made before private investment can work
    for these countries.
        But if the question is, do we need to do more, I think the answer is
    yes. But then we have to look at, nation by nation, what specifically
    needs to be done and what they still need to do.
        President Santer. I only would say that the main achievement for the
    Eastern countries and Central European countries would be to achieve the
    enlargement process. These countries, there are now 10 applicant
    countries, can also access--have an accession to the European Union.
        As you know, we are working very hard, at this moment, precisely on
    this question. I think that the enlargement is a main challenge for the
    European Union to have to face for the 21st century. It is the first
    time since more than 500 years that the European Union has an historic
    chance to reconcile its own continent with itself in peace and freedom.
    And that would be the great challenge.
        And therefore, we have to prepare it. We have to prepare it through
    the preexisting strategy which we defined with many European agreements.
    We have to prepare it now also after the IGC conference under the Dutch
    presidency. And we would put forward from the European Commission at the
    15th or 16th of July under the condition that the presidency would
    succeed in Amsterdam--and I'm quite confident that it will succeed in
    Amsterdam--our opinions about the 10 applicant countries. And therefore,
    all elements are welcome to strengthen this intensity so that we can
    deal with the problems of our neighbors.
        Yesterday in Paris, there was a major step on the security level.
    Now we have to achieve it also on the economic level for the European
    Union.

    [[Page 664]]

    Note: The President's 146th news conference began at 11:42 a.m. in the
    Rolzall Room at Binnenhof Palace. The President met with Prime Minister
    Wim Kok of the Netherlands, President of the European Council, and
    Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission. Following the news
    conference, the three leaders witnessed the signing of a customs
    cooperation agreement and a chemical precursor agreement by Secretary of
    State Madeleine Albright, European Commission Vice President Leon
    Brittan, and Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo of The Netherlands.