[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[June 20, 2005]
[Pages 1019-1025]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's News Conference With European Union Leaders
June 20, 2005

    President Bush. Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. 
There will be opening statements from the three leaders, and then we'll 
take two questions from the American side, two questions from the 
European side.
    I want to appreciate Council President Juncker and Commission President Barroso, the High Representative Solana and the delegation for coming to the White House 
today. I've really enjoyed our conversation and enjoyed our lunch. We've 
covered a lot of topics, and they're important topics.
    During the conversation, our talks reminded me about the importance 
of our partnership and the fact that this partnership is based on common 
values and shared aspirations, a partnership that really has helped 
build a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace. The United States 
continues to support a strong European Union as a partner in spreading 
freedom and democracy and security and prosperity throughout the world. 
My message to these leaders and these 
friends was that we want a Europe strong so we can work together to 
achieve important objectives and important goals.
    One of those important objectives and important goals is the advance 
of freedom in order to spread peace. We talked about the Middle East. We 
support the vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine living 
side by side in peace.
    We talked about Iraq. This week in Brussels, the EU and the U.S. are 
cohosting a conference of over 80 countries and international 
organizations to build support for a free and prosperous Iraq. And I 
want to thank the leaders for that important initiative. I think it's an 
important signal for people to hear loud and clear that there may have 
been past differences over Iraq, but as we move forward, there is a need 
for the world to work together so that Iraq's democracy will succeed.
    We talked about Afghanistan, and I appreciate the contributions of 
EU member nations to--efforts of--within Afghanistan. After all, 23 
members of the EU are contributing troops in Afghanistan, and 12 members 
of the EU are contributing troops in Iraq, and we appreciate those 
contributions.
    We talked about the broader Middle East. We talked about the need 
for us to continually support democratic movements. We talked about the 
Ukraine and Georgia as well as the Balkans. The point is, is that we 
understand that democratic nations are nations that are--will answer to 
the hopes and aspirations of their people, and democratic nations are 
nations that will help us keep the peace.
    We talked about terrorism. We talked about visas. We talked about 
the need to continue to share information to make sure that we cut off 
money flows to terrorist groups and prevent terrorist organizations from 
obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

[[Page 1020]]

    We talked about Iran, and I complimented the EU, complimented Mr. 
Solana as well as the Foreign Ministers from 
Great Britain and Germany and France for 
sending a clear message to the leadership in Iran that we're not going 
to tolerate the development of a nuclear weapon.
    We talked about our collaborative efforts in Darfur. The EU and NATO 
are working together to help deploy AU peacekeepers in Darfur. And I 
want to thank the leadership here.
    We talked about our economies. There's about a trillion dollars' 
worth of trade that takes place on an annual basis between the EU and 
the United States, and that's important. It's important for people 
working here in the United States and people working in Europe to 
understand that trade helps keep--people keep a job. And I recognize 
that when there's that much trade, there's going to be disputes. But 
we'll work those disputes out for the sake of our respective countries.
    We're committed to the Doha round of the WTO. We're committed to 
trade that is fair and free. We spent a lot of time talking about China 
and how to make sure that China understands there are WTO rules that 
must be adhered to and that China should work to do something with her 
currency so that the trade between our respective countries is fair. 
That's all we want. We just want there to be a level playing field. The 
people in Europe can compete and the people in the United States can 
compete if we have fair rules and fair trade. And so we talked about how 
we can work together to make sure that the world trades more freely and 
more fairly for the sake of our peoples.
    All in all, we've had a great discussion. And I'm proud to welcome 
these two men here to the podium here in the East Room of the White 
House. I want to thank you for coming. I want to thank you for your 
friendship.
    Which one wants to go first? The oldest guy. [Laughter]
    Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. 
As the Commission--as the Commission is slow in decisions, I'll take the 
floor immediately. [Laughter]
    President Barroso and myself, we were pleased with the meeting we 
had with President Bush, the Vice President, and a certain number of 
Secretaries. We informed our strongest ally of recent developments and 
events in the European Union. We explained in detail what the real 
meaning of the French ``no'' and the Dutch ``no'' in the recent 
constitution referenda really are about. We were informing the President 
on the budgetary issue. As you know, we were unable during the recent 
European summit to agree on the so-called financial prospectus for the 
period 2007-2013.
    We made clear in our frank and open and friendly talks with the 
President that the European is not at its knees but that the European 
Union is playing the role it has on the international scene, that we 
feel strongly committed to the relations we have established with 
partners throughout the world and mainly with the U.S., the U.S. being 
not only a strategic partner but the most important partner we have, not 
only as far as political strength relations are concerned but also as 
far as heart relations are concerned, that the European Union will table 
its decisions after the next coming months and probably years on the 
Nice Treaty, which is in place and which allows the European Union to 
function in a proper way and not as proper way as the constitution would 
have allowed us to do, but the European Union is there.
    We were discussing, which was of quite huge importance, economic 
reform in the European Union. We adopted a few months ago in March the 
midterm review, the Lisbon Strategy. This is a huge program of economic 
and social reforms. It's clearly paving the way for a more competitive 
Europe, for a Europe taking its part in the

[[Page 1021]]

world's economic development. We were discussing a certain number of 
monetary issues concerning both the U.S. and the European Union, 
discussing our relations with other trade partners in the world and with 
other monetary players in the world.
    In fact, the visit we paid to President Bush at the end of the 
Luxembourg's Presidency of the Council is a happy conclusion of the 6 
months, Luxembourg's period. In Europe, we had the pleasure for having 
President Bush with us in Europe on the 22d of February. This was a huge 
signal the President was sending to Europe. It was in the course of that 
meeting that, in fact, both the President and myself, we decided to call 
for this Iraq conference, which will take place the other day in 
Brussels.
    Although some of us had some differences and divergences with the 
U.S. when it came to Iraq, this--the fact that we are co-organizing and 
co-sharing this very important Iraq conference is showing that when it 
comes to substance, when it comes to progress, when it comes to 
democracy, to freedom, and to liberty, both the U.S. and the European 
Union are cooperating closely together and working in the same 
direction.
    So it was an excellent moment.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.
    Mr. President.
    President Jose Manual Durao Barroso. Thank you. Thank you very much. It was indeed a 
pleasure for me, for President Juncker, for all the European Union team 
to be here. We remember the very successful visit of President Bush to 
Brussels recently, to the European institutions. We really believe the 
world is a better place when Europe and the United States work well 
together and we can show results. We have been together promoting 
democracy, for instance, in Ukraine and in Lebanon, cohosting now the 
international conference on Iraq. We will continue our close cooperation 
on Iran and the Middle East, and we will make sure that the Doha round 
is a success.
    Today we also adopted important decisions concerning, for instance, 
the economic cooperation. We have decided to go even further in our 
economic relations. Let me tell you that, per a day, our trade is around 
$1.8 billion. It shows how important our relation is. We will act 
together decisively to enhance our economic integration, namely in the 
field of regulatory environment. We believe a regulatory environment, as 
much as close as possible, is good for the economy of our space.
    The European Union is and will remain a very strong and reliable 
partner for the United States. It's true that we have complex systems in 
Europe. We are now 25 countries. Very soon we will be 27, about 500 
million of people. And we went through a very important enlargement, 
that it was, indeed, the reunification of Europe, 25, and very soon 27, 
countries that were very recently divided and now are together, sharing 
their sovereignty.
    So it's no surprise that in this process, some problems may occur. 
But the European Union is there. We are on business. We are deciding. We 
are taking decisions every day, internally and externally, and we are 
committed to this very close relation with the United States.
    Let me just underline two points that are very important also in our 
relation that we will be going on discussing in Gleneagles in the next 
G-8 summit in Scotland, is the cooperation in terms of environment. We 
are looking forward--our dialog in United States about climate change, 
new technologies to face those challenges, energy efficiency, energy 
security--we adopted an important statement on that--and also 
development, what we can do together for Africa and for the developing 
world.
    We also adopted a common statement on Africa that shows our 
commitment. I think this is a real problem, and this is a task of a 
generation. We are, together,

[[Page 1022]]

promoting democracy and freedom, but every day 25,000 people die because 
they don't have enough to eat or they don't have clean water to drink. 
This is really a shame for our generation, and you cannot accept it as a 
kind of a natural order of things. It's not natural. Now nobody thinks 
that slavery is natural, but it was natural for centuries--we could live 
with slavery. How can we go on living with people dying because they 
don't have the basic needs? There are enough resources in the world. 
There are enough resources in the world. What we need is political will 
and good organization.
    And when I say good organization, I say good organization on the 
donors community but also on them, on the African leaders, on the third 
world leaders, that they can also work with us for better governance, 
for the rule of law, for accountability in their societies, and 
transparency in their societies. And I hope that this year we can take 
all advantage of this year with a high-level event in September in New 
York, with all--the Gleneagles summit and other occasions so that the 
United States and Europe will be in front running this battle against 
absolute poverty and also for freedom and democracy around the world.
    Thank you.
    President Bush. Thank you, Jose.
    Couple of questions. Tom [Tom Raum, Associated Press].

Nomination of United Nations Ambassador

    Q. Mr. President, by all accounts, the votes just aren't there to 
end the filibuster against your nomination of John Bolton to go to the 
U.N. Your Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, wouldn't rule out a 
recess appointment. There is a recess coming up. Where do you go from 
here? And would a recess appointment give Mr. Bolton enough time to do 
the kind of changes at the U.N. that you are looking for?
    President Bush. I think Mr. Bolton ought 
to get an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. That's my call to the 
Senate. I nominated John Bolton to be the Ambassador to the United 
Nations for a reason. I'm sharing this now with my friends here. The 
American people know why I nominated him, because the U.N. needs reform, 
and I thought it made sense to send a reformer to the United Nations. 
The U.N. is an important organization, and the American people, I think, 
will take--will understand how important it is when the U.N. is reformed 
and is held to account. And so we want more accountability and 
transparency and less bureaucracy, and John Bolton will help achieve 
that mission. And so I think it's time for the Senate to give him an up-
or-down vote, now. And I'm not sure if they've made the decision to have 
that vote. I think tomorrow there is going to be an up-or-down vote, if 
I'm not mistaken, Tom.
    Q. Tonight.
    President Bush. Tonight? Tonight. Yes. Well, put him in. If they're 
interested in reforming the United Nations, they ought to approve John 
Bolton.
    Do you want to call on somebody?

European Union-U.S. Relations

    Q. Mr. President, you spoke of common values were with Europe and 
the United States, and a strong Europe. Would you say that today, after 
the two summits between the European Union and the United States, that 
the partnership has even become again a friendship between Europe and 
the United States, and how do you see the role of the Luxembourg 
Presidency in that issue?
    President Bush. Well, I appreciate that. First, the relations with 
Europe are important relations, and they've--because we do share values. 
And they're universal values. They're not American values or European 
values; they're universal values. And those values, being universal, 
ought to be applied everywhere. And that's human rights, human dignity, 
rule of law, transparency when it comes to government, decency.

[[Page 1023]]

And obviously, if the EU and the U.S. speak with one voice on these 
issues, it's more likely to hear--people will hear it.
    I think the friendship between our respective countries in the EU 
are strong. Obviously, there's been a difference of opinion recently on 
certain issues, but that doesn't prevent the American people from 
holding the good folks of Luxembourg or Portugal in high esteem. There's 
a lot of traffic between our country, a lot of tourism, a lot of trade, 
a lot of commerce between individual countries within the EU and the 
United States. And that's because of mutual respect and the desire for 
people to get to know the world better.
    In terms of your Prime Minister, 
he's an interesting guy. [Laughter] He's a lot of fun to be around. He 
promotes serious business in a way that endears himself to people. And 
so I think his Presidency has been an important Presidency for the EU 
during difficult times, and he's handled it well. And I was going to say 
he's a piece of work, but that might not translate too well. Is that all 
right, if I call you a ``piece of work''? [Laughter]
    Prime Minister Juncker. Okay.
    President Bush. He's done a good 
job, and I value his friendship. I think--I know it's really important 
for people at our--when we sit down at the table, to have a friendship, 
so we can discuss things in a frank way, in an honest way, without fear 
of being able to tell people what's on our mind. That's the best way to 
get things done, and Jean-Claude certainly has been that way, as has 
Jose.
    Adam [Adam Entous, Reuters].

Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, we were told that you planned to sharpen your 
focus on Iraq. Why did this become necessary? And given the recent surge 
in violence, do you agree with Vice President Dick Cheney's assessment 
that the insurgency is in its last throes?
    President Bush. Adam, I think about Iraq every day--every single 
day--because I understand we have troops in harm's way, and I understand 
how dangerous it is there. And the reason it's dangerous is because 
there's these coldblooded killers that will kill Americans or kill 
innocent Iraqis in order to try to drive us out of Iraq. I spoke to our 
commanders today--Commander Abizaid today 
and will be speaking to General Casey 
here this week, getting an assessment as to how we're proceeding, if 
we're making progress toward the goal, which is, on the one hand, a 
political process moving forward in Iraq, and on the other hand, the 
Iraqis capable of defending themselves. And the report from the field is 
that while it's tough, more and more Iraqis are becoming battle-hardened 
and trained to defend themselves. And that's exactly the strategy that's 
going to work. And it is going to work. And we will complete this 
mission for the sake of world peace.
    And you just heard the EU is willing to host this conference with 
the United States in order to help this new democracy move forward. And 
the reason why is many countries understand that freedom in the heart of 
the Middle East will make this world more peaceful.
    And so, you know, I think about this every day--every single day--
and will continue thinking about it, because I understand we've got kids 
in harm's way. And I worry about their families, and I--obviously, any 
time there's a death, I grieve. But I want those families to know, one, 
we're not going to leave them--not going to allow their mission to go in 
vain, and two, we will complete the mission and the world will be better 
off for it.
    Q. Mr. President, many in Europe----
    President Bush. You're offending people here, we got two other--
[laughter]----

[[Page 1024]]

Detainees of the War on Terror

    Q. Mr. President, many in Europe are worrying that with the fight 
against terrorism the commitment of the United States to human rights is 
not as big as it used to be--that has not only to do with Guantanamo but 
also with the secret prisons where the CIA holds terror suspects. My 
question is, what will happen to these people who are held in these 
secret prisons by the CIA? Will they ever see a judge? Or is your 
thinking that with some terror suspects, the rule of law should not 
apply or does not have to have applied?
    President Bush. First of all, I appreciate that question, and I 
understand we--those of us who espouse freedom have an obligation and 
those who espouse human rights have an obligation to live that--to 
those--to live up to those words. And I believe we are in Guantanamo. I 
mean, after all, there's 24-hour inspections by the International Red 
Cross. You're welcome to go down yourself--maybe you have--and taking a 
look at the conditions. I urge members of our press corps to go down to 
Guantanamo and see how they're treated and to see--and to look at the 
facts. That's all I ask people to do. There have been, I think, about 
800 or so that have been detained there. These are people picked up off 
the battlefield in Afghanistan. They weren't wearing uniforms. They 
weren't state sponsored, but they were there to kill.
    And so the fundamental question facing our Government was, what do 
you do with these people? And so we said that they don't apply under the 
Geneva Convention, but they'll be treated in accord with the Geneva 
Convention.
    And so I would urge you to go down and take a look at Guantanamo. 
About 200 or so have been released back to their countries. There needs 
to be a way forward on the other 500 that are there. We're now waiting 
for a Federal court to decide whether or not they can be tried in a 
military court, where they'll have rights, of course, or in the civilian 
courts. We're just waiting for our judicial process to move the process 
along.
    Make no mistake, however, that many of those folks being detained--
in humane conditions, I might add--are dangerous people. Some have been 
released to their previous countries, and they got out, and they went on 
to the battlefield again. And I have an obligation, as do all of us who 
are holding office, to protect our people. That's a solemn obligation we 
all have. And I believe we're meeting that obligation in a humane way.
    As well as--we've got some in custody--Khalid Sheikh 
Mohammed is a classic example, the 
mastermind of the September the 11th attack that killed over 3,000 of 
our citizens. And he is being detained because we think he could 
possibly give us information that might not only protect us but protect 
citizens in Europe. And at some point in time, he'll be dealt with, but 
right now, we think it's best that he be kept in custody.
    We want to learn as much as we can in this new kind of war about the 
intention and about the methods and about how these people operate. And 
they're dangerous, and they're still around, and they'll kill in a 
moment's notice.
    In the long run, the best way to protect ourselves is to spread 
freedom and human rights and democracy. And--but if you've got questions 
about Guantanamo, I seriously suggest you go down there and take a look. 
And--seriously, take an objective look as to how these folks are treated 
and what has happened to them in the past, and when the courts make the 
decision they make, we'll act accordingly.
    Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you all very much for coming.

Note: The President's news conference began at 1:11 p.m. in the East 
Room at the White House. Participating in the event were Prime Minister 
Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, in his capacity as President of the

[[Page 1025]]

European Council; and President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso of the 
European Commission. President Bush referred to Secretary General Javier 
Solana of the European Council; Gen. John P. Abizaid, USA, combatant 
commander, U.S. Central Command; Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., USA, 
commanding general, Multi-National Force--Iraq; and Khalid Sheikh 
Mohammed, senior Al Qaida leader responsible for planning the September 
11, 2001, terrorist attack, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1, 
2003.