[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
[June 20, 1997]
[Pages 773-774]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Romano 
Prodi of Italy in Denver
June 20, 1997

Proposed Tobacco Agreement

    Q. Mr. President, could we ask you one question again--I'm sorry--on 
tobacco? Apparently, Mr. Kessler is already a little bit skeptical about 
the agreement, particularly as it concerns regulating nicotine levels. 
Could the White House

[[Page 774]]

be in a position of rejecting this agreement? What are your concerns 
over nicotine levels?
    President Clinton. Well, of course we could. We could be in a 
position of rejecting it or accepting it; I haven't seen it yet.
    I received a letter--I was told that I received a letter after I 
left to come out here, from Dr. Kessler and Dr. Koop, both of whom, as 
you know, have worked with me very closely on this issue, asking for a 
reasonable amount of time for them to evaluate this. And I think that 
they should evaluate it, and of course I care very deeply about what 
they say. I have worked with them on a whole range of issues. And we 
want to see what it says.
    The test should be, does it preserve clear and unambiguous 
jurisdiction for the FDA in important areas, and is the money spent in 
an appropriate way so that we advance the protection of public health 
and reduce children smoking? That's it. It's a simple test for me and 
I--but I can't comment on it because I haven't seen it. And I think that 
it's the same for them. You would expect them to put up a few little red 
flags, but we all ought to--these folks have been working hard and 
they've done their best, and now we should look at it and make our 
judgments.
    Let me say to the American press, while you're here, I want to thank 
Prime Minister Prodi and the members of his government for the 
extraordinary leadership that Italy has shown in the Balkans, working 
with us in Bosnia, being a very effective member of the contact group, 
providing support for American actions there, without which we would not 
have been able to proceed, and then, most recently, for really an almost 
unprecedented effort to lead a multinational force in Albania. I will 
predict to you that in future years we will look back on this Italian 
effort and see it as a real watershed in European leadership for 
promoting security and minimizing disruption. I just wanted to thank him 
and say that to you, sir.
    Prime Minister Prodi. Thank you.

Bosnia and Albania

    Q. Mr. Prodi, on Bosnia, do you believe that the multinational force 
should stay after 1998? Do you have any concerns that fighting will 
still break out?
    Prime Minister Prodi. I have some concerns, but we shall talk about 
that in our conversation. And of course, the Bosnian situation is very 
complex and a program to end it in a short time is not easy to solve. 
But we came here just to talk of this problem.
    Q. Thank you.

[At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group 
entered.]

    President Clinton. I would like to say that it's a great honor for 
us to have Prime Minister Prodi and the distinguished members of his 
government here. And I want to also say that the United States is deeply 
grateful for Italy's leadership in promoting peace in the Balkans, 
especially the work that we have done together in Bosnia. The United 
States could not have done its job in Bosnia without the support of 
Italy.
    And I am especially grateful for the leadership that Italy has shown 
in Albania. It is an almost unprecedented effort to put together a 
European initiative to minimize the troubles of Albania, which are the 
kinds of things that we will be dealing with for a long time. And I 
believe that in years to come, we will look back on the Italian effort 
here as a dramatic historic breakthrough in the capacity of the European 
nations to promote peace and deal with difficulties.

Note: The exchange began at 4:25 p.m. at the Brown Palace Hotel. In his 
remarks, the President referred to David A. Kessler, former Commissioner 
of Food and Drugs, and C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General.