    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [April 30, 2007]
    [Pages 501-508]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With European Union Leaders
    April 30, 2007

        President Bush. Thank you all. Please be seated. Welcome to the Rose
    Garden. I want to welcome Angela Merkel and Jose Barroso here. Thank you
    all for your friendship. Thank you for what has been a serious set of
    discussions.
        I told the Chancellor and the President that the EU-U.S. relations
    are very important to our country, that not only is it important for us
    to strategize how to promote prosperity and peace, but it's important
    for us to achieve concrete results. And we have done so.
        [Inaudible]--the Chancellor and Jose very much for the transatlantic
    economic integration plan that the three of us signed today. It is a
    statement of the importance of trade. It is a commitment to eliminating
    barriers to trade. It is a recognition that the closer that the United
    States and the EU become, the better off our people become. And so this
    is a substantial agreement, and I appreciate it.
        We also talked about Doha, and I thank Peter Mandelson and Susan Schwab for
    briefing us. The first thing I told the group in the Cabinet Room was
    that I am firmly dedicated to a successful Doha round. I believe it's in
    this country's interests that we reject isolationism and protectionism
    and encourage free trade. I'm under no illusions as to how hard it will
    be to achieve the objective, but the first thing is, there must be a
    firm commitment by the leadership to get a deal.
        Secondly, I reminded the people that this country is dedicated to
    working to eliminate poverty and disease, and the best way to help the
    developing world is through a successful Doha round. We told our trade
    ministers, ``Work hard, work often, work constructively.'' And I believe
    we can be successful. And we're committed to reducing our agricultural
    subsidies in order to advance the process. We expect others to follow
    suit and market access.
        Anyway, I am optimistic we can achieve the objective. And today's
    meetings gave us a chance to discuss a way forward. We talked about the
    visa waiver program. We talked about Iran and the need for our nations
    to continue to work closely together to send a unified message to the
    Iranians that their development of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable to
    peace. We talked about Darfur.
        We talked about Afghanistan and Iraq. And I appreciate very much the
    EU's support of the International Compact that will be meeting on Iraq
    here in Sharm el-Sheikh. We talked about Cuba and the importance for
    Cuba to be a free society, a society that respects human rights and
    human dignity, a society that honors the rule of law.
        We also talked about climate change, and here we share a common
    interest. One, we recognize that we have a problem with greenhouse
    gases; two, we recognize we have a problem with a dependence on oil;
    three, we recognize that we can use technologies to help solve this
    problem; and, four, we recognize we have an obligation to work together
    to promote the technologies necessary to solve the problem and encourage
    that the developing world that to use those technologies.
        And so I found the discussion refreshing and interesting, and I
    appreciate the candid conversations we had.
        Madam Chancellor, welcome back here to the Rose Garden, and I'm
    looking forward to your comments.
        Chancellor Angela Merkel. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President, dear
    George. Thank you for the hospitality. Thank you for the hospitality you
    accorded to the European Union and also for the fact that you made it
    possible to hold this summit

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    meeting between the EU and the United States of America, which already
    has a very good and rich tradition.
        It was a very interesting debate and one that was actually--we were
    talking about a lot of issues, about transatlantic economic integration,
    obviously, first and foremost. And let me thank you very warmly for the
    fact that we've been able to enjoy such substantial progress in such a
    relatively short time. That was only possible because the American
    administration--but in particular, you, Mr. President--were behind, full
    square behind this project and because we not only agreed on general
    frameworks but on very concrete projects.
        And I think that's exactly what the people in our country expect
    from us, all the representatives of our respective business communities.
    They ask us: ``What can we do in order to really pool our resources and
    make sure that we work on one and the same level playing field as
    regards, for example, our shared values?'' So I am confident that what
    with the Economic Council that we have set up, we will be able to make
    progress on very concrete projects, for example, mutual recognition of
    standards and other areas. It is, as I see it, a significant step
    forward.
        I would also like to thank you for the progress we've been able to
    make on climate and energy issues. There is a common basis. We are aware
    of the fact that we do have a problem here, that we need to solve this
    problem. There are different approaches obviously as to how to solve
    that.
        But we have been able, actually, to find a lot of common ground. And
    one of the issues we talked about, for example, was a commitment of the
    United States of America to introduce 20 percent biofuels over the next
    few years to come, until 2020, and to have this at their disposal. And
    for that, too, we need to develop a common market, common standards
    which, as I see it, has been, again, giving a more--a very important
    impetus to that particular industry and that technology.
        Now, on climate, we will also need to work on this in view of the
    upcoming G-8 summit, where we will make it clear, as European Union, as
    United States of America, that we don't want to isolate ourselves or
    shut ourselves off against the red of the--rest of the world, but where
    we want to enlist the support of others, invite them to join us.
        And I also note that the trade talks have been taking place here on
    the margins of this meeting. They also obviously will then have to take
    part--place in the more wider group, the multilateral group. Let me just
    tell you, this agreement between the European Union and the U.S. is not
    in any way against free trade. No, not at all. And what we need to do
    here is really to look at the larger picture. And I feel it's so good
    that the President is committed to make a step forward also on reducing
    nontariff barriers to trade. All of the partners will have to be in on
    this, but we will do our bit to make this true.
        I don't want to go through the whole agenda of international issues.
    And let me just tell you, it was an open and candid discussion that
    clearly showed us that we need to work together, that diplomacy can only
    be successful if we stand together, be this on the Middle East, on other
    issues.
        And let me tell you that we have been talking at greater length also
    about the situation in Darfur, which we consider to be totally
    unacceptable, and that we need to do everything we can in order to help
    the people there on the ground who suffer immensely, because we have not
    made progress so far and that we ought to use all of our possibilities
    in order to achieve progress also in the European--in the United
    Nations.
        Thank you yet again for your hospitality, for the commitment that, I
    think, the number of documents that we have been able to agree on here
    today show--is born out--it's a good day for EU-U.S. relations.
        President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso. [Inaudible]--a very friendly
    exchange, the

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    one we had today, covering the whole range of European Union-United
    States relations and also some international issues. President Bush and
    Chancellor Merkel already mentioned the basic points, so let me just
    underline one or two that I believe are specifically important, namely
    in terms of economic relations and also on climate.
        On economic relations, we signed very important framework for
    advancing transatlantic European integration. This was already welcomed
    by business community on both sides of Atlantic. Our economic relation
    is by far the most important in the world. Transatlantic trade in goods
    and service totals over 1.7 billion euros a day. But we can work
    together more to make that relation even easier. And I believe there is
    some untapped potential, namely if we can achieve more regulatory
    cooperation, in some cases regulatory convergence, put down some
    barriers to trade and investment on both sides, and to fight, of course,
    protectionism and isolationism that sometimes happens on both sides of
    the Atlantic as well.
        So this is, indeed, a very important agreement and an agreement that
    also brings with it a Transatlantic Economic Council to be a permanent
    body, with senior people on both sides of Atlantic as we look at all
    those issues in a concrete manner, in which way we can make it move
    forward.
        On European Union side, I decided to appoint Vice President of the
    Commission Gunter Verheugen as our leading personality in that council.
        Another important point linked with this, it will be signed later
    this afternoon, is the Air Transport Agreement. It is a very important
    first-stage agreement on air transport, but it also brings with it the
    same idea of putting, in an easier footing, the relations--economic
    relations, people's relations--between United States of America and the
    European Union. And I think it's also very important, is by far the most
    important, in terms of air traffic liberalization, since the convention
    of Chicago so many years ago.
        But trade--we also welcomed very strong statement that President
    Bush made during our meeting and--just now. We are very committed to a
    successful conclusion to Doha round. We believe we can do it. We should
    do it. It will be good for trade, for the economy globally, but also for
    developing world and also for having all the main players in a true
    multilateral system for trade. So we are going to make efforts to get
    that done.
        Regarding climate, I really welcome the fact that there was progress
    in this meeting. We agree there is a threat; there is a very serious and
    global threat. We agree that there is a need to reduce emissions. We
    agree that we should work together. That's why I decided to have a forum
    where we are going to address many of these issues, namely technology
    and other issues that are important to fight climate change. And let's
    be frank: Without the United States and Europe working together, we
    cannot engage others so that we can have a real global effort to face
    this very important threat to our economy but also to our security. So
    climate and energy security are important in the agenda. And I'm very
    happy with the progress that we have achieved in this meeting today.
        Once again, President Bush, dear George, thank you very much for all
    the preparations and all the support you are giving personally to these
    very deep and strong relations.
        President Bush. Thank you, Jose. Two questions for the three of us,
    starting with Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press].

    Emergency Supplemental Appropriations

        Q. Mr. President, you're about to veto a bill that would force troop
    withdrawals from Iraq. How much of a voice are you willing to give
    Congress in the way that you conduct the war?
        President Bush. Yes. I am about to veto a bill that has got
    artificial timetables for

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    withdrawal, but that's not the only bad thing about the bill. It also
    imposes the judgment of people here in Washington on our military
    commanders and diplomats. It also adds domestic spending that's
    unrelated to the war. I have made my position very clear; the Congress
    chose to ignore it, and so I'll veto the bill.
        That's not to say that I'm not interested in their opinions; I am. I
    look forward to working with members of both parties to get a bill that
    doesn't set artificial timetables and doesn't micromanage and gets the
    money to our troops. I believe that there's a lot of Democrats that
    understand that we need to get the money to the troops as soon as
    possible. And so I'm optimistic we can get something done in a positive
    way.

    Russia/Missile Defense System

        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. How could we ever forget your face? [Laughter]
        Q. That's great. Thank you very much. I remember yours too.
    [Laughter]
        President Bush. Thank you.
        Q. Mr. President, concerning the nuclear--the dispute about missile
    defense, the missile defense with Moscow, what concrete steps are you
    planning to convince President Putin that this is a good idea of NATO
    and the U.S.? And can the German Chancellor help you on this issue?
        President Bush. As you know, I'm having a regular conversation with
    the German Chancellor. We have a secure video that is beamed in the
    White House and her office, and so we consult regularly. And she
    expressed her concerns that the U.S. position wasn't very clear about
    the missile defense systems and that there were some people concerned in
    Germany, as well as Europe, about our intentions. And she also suggested
    that it might make sense for me to share my intentions more clearly with
    President Putin. And I took her advice very
    seriously.
        Our intention, of course, is to have a defense system that prevents
    rogue regimes from holding Western Europe and/or America to hostage.
    Evidently, the Russians view it differently. And so upon the advice of
    the Chancellor, I asked Secretary Gates to
    go to Moscow, where he had a very constructive meeting with President
    Putin. I called President Putin and asked him
    to see Secretary Gates, and that we would put forth an interesting
    information-sharing proposal.
        Our intention is to say to Russia that the system is something you
    ought to think about participating in. It's in your interests to have a
    system that would--could prevent a future Iranian regime, for example,
    from launching a weapon--it's in Russia's security interests. And
    therefore, we have started a dialog that, as a result of Secretary
    Gates's visit, that, hopefully, will make
    explicit our intentions and, hopefully, present the--an opportunity to
    share with the Russians, so that they don't see us as an antagonistic
    force, but see us as a friendly force.

    Trade/Iran

        Q. If I could ask you, President of the Commission, first of all, on
    the trade agreement you've reached. Presumably this is an agreement
    that's going to make wealthy countries richer, yet there's no progress
    to report on Doha to help the plight of poor countries. Aren't your
    priorities wrong?
        And on a separate issue, your foreign policy chief has said that the
    U.S. should talk to Iran. I wondered whether you could tell us exactly
    what the U.S. should be talking to Iran about.
        President Bush, if I can just add a question on that, your Secretary
    of State is going to a conference in Iraq where the Foreign Minister
    from Iran is going to be present. Do you expect her to have
    conversations with the Foreign Minister of Iran? What will she talk
    about? And if she does have a conversation, is there going

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    to be a change of U.S. policy? Thank you very much.
        President Durao Barroso. Regarding the framework for advancing
    transatlantic-European integration, we said it very clearly--and it is
    clearly stated in the declaration and also in all our conversations--
    that this is not detrimental to the global trade talks. On the contrary,
    you just heard President Bush, Chancellor Merkel, and myself saying it
    clearly that completion of Doha round remains a priority for all of us.
        But there are some artificial barriers to trade and investment--it's
    more about investment than to trade, to be frank--still between United
    States and Europe. And through harmonization of standards, through a
    giant effort, for instance, to promote the enforcement of intellectual
    property rights, through some common approaches to investment, to
    capital markets integration, to common--or at least commonly accepted
    rules for accounting--we are trying to untap a lot of potential that
    exists in the United States-European Union relations.
        So this is not at all against global trade talks. On the contrary,
    we remain and we, in fact, we are urging for a completion of the Doha
    trade talks, not only because they are about trade, but because they are
    about development. And today we had extensive conversations about it.
    And as President Bush has said, we've heard a complete briefing by Susan
    Schwab on the American side and Peter Mandelson on the European Union
    side.
        Regarding Iran, we also share the same views, basically, about how
    to deal with Iran. And it's not only the United States and Europe, I'll
    say--there are several resolutions with the United Nations Security
    Council. And the Iranians should understand that this message they are
    receiving from the global community--by the United States, by Europe,
    but from others; the Security Council adopt several resolutions.
    Proliferation, nuclear proliferation is, indeed, a threat, not only to
    regional stability but to the global peace and global stability. So I
    believe we are united in sending this very clear message here, but also
    in United Nations, to the Iranian authorities.
        President Bush. Should the Foreign Minister of Iran bump into Condi Rice, Condi won't be rude. She's not a rude person. I'm
    sure she'll be polite. But she'll also be firm in reminding this
    representative of the Iranian Government that there's a better way
    forward for the Iranian people than isolation. My hopes, of course, is
    that the Foreign Minister would see the resolve of our Government,
    through Condi, to continue to rally the world to convince the Iranians
    to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions. I happen to believe a
    significant threat to world peace, today and in the future, is the
    Iranian threat if they were to end up with a nuclear weapon, I--
    ``today'' is the wrong word--``in the future.'' They don't have a weapon
    today.
        And so I--if, in fact, there is a conversation, it will be one that
    says, if the Iranian Government wants to have a serious conversation
    with the United States and others, they ought to give up their
    enrichment program in a verifiable fashion. And we will sit down at the
    table with them, along with our European partners and Russia as well.
    That's what she'll tell them.
        Chancellor Merkel. Allow me, if I may, one remark on the
    transatlantic economic partnership and how that tallies with the Doha
    round. The Doha round actually is mainly about reducing tariffs. And the
    transatlantic economic partnership has to do more with standards that
    have nothing to do, actually, with tariffs.
        What we are after is to see to it that we try for convergence on
    standards in many, many areas where we do not have mutual recognition of
    standards or areas where we can actually harmonize those standards and,
    therefore, reduce costs by millions, for example, in drug testing, in
    crash tests for automobiles. And if we look at where the challenges lie,
    I am firmly convinced that both the United States and

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    the European Union would be far more competitive and need to be far more
    competitive with, vis-a-vis, the emerging countries.
        So in this way, this will liberate money to put into new
    technologies, into developing techniques that can enable us to do that.
    And we're actually squandering money that could be put to better use. So
    the two are complementary, but they also serve strengthening
    competitiveness of both the European Union and the United States.

    World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz

        Q. For all three of you, did you at any point today, either
    informally or not, have discussions about the fate of World Bank
    President Paul Wolfowitz? Should he resign? keep his job? And your
    reason for that, please.
        President Bush. The answer is, no, we didn't have a discussion. My
    position is, is that he ought to stay. He ought to be given a fair
    hearing. And I appreciate the fact that he has advanced--he's helped the
    World Bank recognize that the eradication of world poverty is an
    important priority for the bank.
        Chancellor Merkel. Well, today we did not address that issue; and my
    position is, and this is going to be relayed by a minister in the
    board--in the individual bodies of the World Bank, and they have the
    respective commissions as well, that this ought to be a very
    transparent, very candid conversation. This is, I think, where this
    belongs, this particular issue.

    Alternative Fuel Sources

        Q. A question addressed to you, Mr. President, also to the
    Chancellor. You were speaking of progress that you have been able to
    achieve on climate. Are these true and genuine--is this true and genuine
    progress if we still don't agree on the instruments to get there? The
    Europeans seem to be banking more on limiting CO2 emissions,
    sort of national limits that are imposed by governments. You seem to be
    more in favor of, sort of, a voluntary regime. But apparently, we're
    sort of reaching the 11th hour.
        President Bush. Actually, that's not an accurate portrayal of my
    position. For example, take tailpipe emissions from automobiles. I have
    said we'll have a mandatory fuel standard--not a voluntary fuel
    standard, but a mandatory fuel standard--that will reduce our uses of
    gasoline by 20 percent over a 10-year period of time. We believe that
    ethanol and biodiesel--the spread of ethanol and biodiesel are--the goal
    of spreading ethanol and biodiesel is achievable. That's what we
    believe. And we're spending a lot of money to achieve that goal.
        Now, the spread of ethanol in the United States is not going to be
    achievable if we rely only upon corn. There is a limit to the amount of
    ethanol we can produce with corn as the feedstock. So our research
    dollars are going to what they call cellulosic ethanol, and that means
    the ability to make ethanol from switchgrasses or wood chips. And we're
    spending a lot of money to that end.
        And it is a mandatory approach. And the reason why I laid it out is
    because, one, I do believe we can be better stewards of the environment,
    and, two, I know it's in our national interest to become less dependent
    on foreign sources of oil. The fundamental question is, will America be
    able to develop the technology necessary for us to achieve the goal? I
    think we can. It's in our interest to share that technology, not only
    with our partners who are wealthy enough to spend money on research
    dollars but also with the developing world.
        Now, you talk about helping alleviate poverty in the developing
    world. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the developing world could grow crops
    that would enable them to power their automobiles so they wouldn't have
    to be dependent on foreign oil either? And that's the message I took
    down to South America, with Lula,
    and to Central America. For example, sugar cane is the

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    most efficient--you're learning a lot about ethanol here--but sugar cane
    is the most efficient way to make ethanol. It turns out, in Central
    America, there is a lot of land and opportunity to continue to produce
    cane, which means that the Central American countries could be
    eventually net exporters of energy. And so we've got a lot of common
    ground and a lot of area to work on.
        As to how each country approaches it, that's an interesting
    question. And I think that each country needs to recognize that we must
    reduce our greenhouse gases and deal obviously with their own internal
    politics to come up with an effective strategy that, hopefully, when
    added together, that it leads to a real reduction.
        Finally, you've got to recognize that in order to make--achieve
    progress on greenhouse gases, we've got to make sure that the developing
    nations, which are significant emitters, are a part of the process. As I
    reminded the people around the conference table today, the United States
    could shut down our economy and emit no greenhouse gases, and all it
    would take is for China, in about 18 months, to produce as much as we
    had been producing, to make up the difference about what we reduced our
    greenhouse gases to.
        So it's a--this is a very important issue. It's got global
    consequences. The good news is, is that we recognize there's a problem.
    The good news is, we recognize technology is going to lead to solutions,
    and that we're willing to share those technologies. And we all recognize
    we've got to deal with the developing world, particularly China and
    India.
        Chancellor Merkel. I feel--just look back a year ago. I feel that we
    would have had a lot more difficulty actually bringing about language
    that describes this problem adequately than we have to now. And it is
    thanks to the President and his team clearly mentioning what the problem
    is in this document. It says clearly: We need to do everything we can in
    order to work against these detrimental consequences. A lot is being
    done discussing this issue; for example, we need to discuss possible
    pricing of CO2. How can we translate this into a market-
    economic-compatible scheme?
        And we are also agreed that we, as industrialized country, need to
    address this issue; need to develop the necessary technology. But we,
    alone, without the emerging countries, will not be able solve this
    problem. And this is why--how it's--why it's so important that this EU-
    U.S. result is translated into the G-8, debated together with the
    outreach countries--China and South Africa, Brazil, among others, and
    India--because if we were not doing that, we will--we would not be able
    to combat this problem that is truly a global one.
        But what is also true is that if the developed countries who have
    the best technology don't do anything, it will be even harder to
    convince the others. But without convincing the others, CO2
    emissions worldwide will not go down. And I do think that we, together,
    need to define steps. We have done it. For example, we said we need a
    proper agenda for the Indonesian talks at the end of this year. That's
    an enormous step forward. And I think this is where we should be clear
    about the glass being half full instead of half empty. So think again
    for this.

    U.S.-EU Cooperation on the Environment

        Q. For Mr. Barroso, I would like to know how happy the European
    Union is, really, with the final document on climate change? Is it as
    ambitious as you were planning? Thank you.
        President Durao Barroso. To be very frank, it's better than what I
    was planning. I think it was real progress. Of course, it's working in
    progress, but as President Bush said, we agree there is a global threat;
    it's a serious threat. We agree there is the need to establish a limit
    to greenhouse gases. We agree with many of the mechanisms, namely the
    market-based mechanisms, the technology cooperation. We have agreed to

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    establish a high-level group, a forum, between the European Union and
    the American administration to look at those issues. And as Chancellor
    Merkel just said, we have to engage others. So now we can go to the G-8
    summit in Heiligendamm in June, in Germany, to discuss this issue also
    with others that are very relevant for a global solution to a global
    problem.
        So I really believe that there was progress and very concrete
    progress. For instance, standards for biofuels--it's good. The idea to
    have a conference on renewables between the European Union and the
    United States, it will be next year here in Washington. And some
    concrete--it's very detailed in our document--some concrete mechanisms,
    in terms of energy efficiency.
        So I really believe that by linking those different files--climate
    protection, energy security--we can really achieve a very important goal
    of having a sustainable development that is friendly to our environment.
    But I think it was a very important progress, and we are working along
    the same lines. But it is, of course, still work in progress.
        President Bush. Good. Thank you all very much. Madam Chancellor,
    thank you.
        Chancellor Merkel. Thank you.
        President Bush. Mr. President, thank you.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 1:18 p.m. in the Rose
    Garden at the White House. Participating in the event were Chancellor
    Angela Merkel of Germany, in her capacity as President of the European
    Council; and President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso of the European
    Commission. President Bush referred to European Union Commissioner for
    Trade Peter Mandelson; President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia; Minister
    of Foreign Affairs Manuchehr Motaki of Iran; and President Luiz Inacio
    Lula da Silva of Brazil. A reporter referred to European Union Foreign
    Minister Javier Solana Madariaga. Chancellor Merkel and a reporter spoke
    in German, and their remarks were translated by an interpreter.