[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 23 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
[Pages 809-817]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With European Union Leaders in Kranj

June 10, 2008

    Prime Minister Jansa. Good afternoon, and welcome to Slovenia. 
Welcome to Brdo, where we have just concluded this year's summit meeting 
between the EU and the U.S.A. I welcome in our midst the President of 
the United States of America, Mr. George W. Bush, and the President of 
the European Commission, Mr. Jose Barroso.
    For the U.S. President, this is the eighth summit and his second 
visit to Slovenia. It happened on the same spot; also, the press 
conference was held here. This is a historic event. On my visit to 
Washington 2 years ago, Mr. President, you welcomed us by saying that 
Slovenia is a piece of heaven on Earth, and we enjoyed your excellent 
hospitality. I hope we are returning that hospitality to some extent 
today.
    Our discussions at this summit were very good and open. We confirmed 
that the transatlantic partnership is solid and dynamic. This message 
carries special weight in the historic context of this summit. Sixty 
years ago, the U.S. offered the ravaged and divided Europe hope through 
the Marshall plan and through courage, solidarity, and vision. The first 
U.S. President, George Washington, once said that there will be a united 
states of Europe. This has not happened yet, but the European Union has 
been created, an area of freedom and progress uniting 500 million 
Europeans.
    The European Union and the U.S. share the most important fundamental 
values: democracy, free entrepreneurial initiative, respect for human 
rights and fundamental freedoms, and the respect for the principles of 
the rule of law. The EU and the U.S. together represent 10 percent of 
the world's population. The trade in goods and services amounts to =3 
billion a day, and they together produce almost 60 percent of the 
world's GDP. And together they contribute 75 percent of development aid 
to poor countries. However, they also emit the majority of greenhouse 
gases.
    Because of all these reasons, they also share a significant joint 
responsibility impacting the key global challenges. Our views on certain 
paths differ. Our views are different on, for example, the death penalty 
or the mandatory restriction on CO<INF>2</INF> emissions, but we are 
openly discussing these differences and looking for solutions.
    We spoke at length about the issues of climate change and energy 
security. These issues affect all humanity and our well-established 
habits and our way of life. We confirmed our readiness to face this 
challenge together. We in the European Union consider it necessary to 
define the mandatory objectives for reducing CO<INF>2</INF> emissions 
and to reach a global agreement. We must cooperate in protecting the 
environment, in

[[Page 810]]

searching new sources of energy, and in developing new technologies.
    High oil prices have forced us to intensify our search for new 
energy solutions. We are on the threshold of a new industrial 
revolution. Low carbon production and transport are becoming an economic 
necessity in addition to an environmental one. We need the most 
efficient solutions to the benefit of the present and future generations 
as soon as possible. The European Union and the U.S. will lead the new 
industrial revolution.
    We must also create broad alliances. Several important meetings are 
ahead of us this year. We have great expectations concerning the G-8 
summit and the U.N. conference on climate change in Poland.
    We spoke about the most topical issues of the world economy. Our 
goals include a secure future, preservation of jobs, and combating 
protectionism. We are determined to cooperate in eliminating the global 
imbalances and to attract to this task the new, fast-growing economies. 
We are committed to continuing discussions on the Doha development 
agenda within the framework of the WTO and to the realization of the 
Millennium Development Goals.
    We also discussed a series of regional issues. We focused in 
particular on the Western Balkans. In the European Union, we value 
greatly the role the U.S. played in the 1990s in putting an end to the 
violence in the region. Today, we are united and firm in our support of 
the prospect of these countries joining the Euro-Atlantic structures. 
This is the path which leads to peace and stability, as well as to the 
necessary democratic and economic reforms.
    We were informed of the work carried out by the Transatlantic 
Economic Council. We remain committed to the elimination of barriers to 
mutual trade, a process which will bring economic growth and create new 
jobs. We are in favor of establishing the Transatlantic Economic Council 
as a mechanism for bringing tangible results that will benefit both 
consumers and producers in the EU and the U.S. The European Commission 
and its President, Barroso, are making every effort to this end.
    The concrete results also includes the Air Transport Agreement. The 
first stage of the agreement has already entered into force. It 
liberalizes conditions for mutual investment and enables a freer access 
to air services. And in the middle of the former months, we launched the 
negotiations on the second stage. The work on the Aviation Safety 
Agreement has also been completed, and I hope it will be signed by the 
end of the month.
    We also spoke about visa-free travel to the U.S. for all EU 
citizens. I am pleased that we are close to seeing new countries join 
the Visa Waiver Program soon. We are aware that certain restrictions are 
necessary for security reasons. Nevertheless, we remain determined to 
ensure that the need for enhanced security will not restrict the visa-
free travel for our citizens.

[At this point, Prime Minister Jansa continued in English.]

    Mr. President, European Union and United States are most developed 
democracies. Last big EU enlargement, which included Slovenia and other 
Central and Eastern European countries, has been one of the great--
greatest achievements in terms of promotion of democracy. Today, almost 
whole Europe is free and united. This is very strong message for 21st 
century. The world is now complex. Nobody alone can solve all problems. 
War, peace, security, and promotion of democracy, climate change and 
fight against poverty are global challenges today. Even together we are 
not able to solve all of them, but if we don't work together and we are 
not able to form even stronger alliance, then I'm afraid we won't 
succeed.
    I'm glad that we can conclude after last few and also after today's 
EU-U.S. summit that we indeed work together. Although we might have 
different approaches in some aspects, it should never overshadow the 
depth and quality of our cooperation. We covered, as I said, a wide 
range of issues during our talks, from foreign policy to economic 
cooperation. Many strategic projects are underway. Maybe we need to 
develop also a common name for them. Symbols and names are important in 
the world's politics.
    Mr. President, we led strongly to the rich story of your--this 
time's European tour--60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift and the

[[Page 811]]

Marshall plan. United States engagement did not only bring 
rehabilitation to Europe by promoting integration, it set an 
irreversible process in motion. Today, Slovenia is hosting EU-U.S. 
summit, something that seemed impossible 60 years ago; something that 
seemed impossible even 20 years ago, during the Slovenian Spring, when 
our streets were full of people fighting for freedom and democracy.
    Our history teach us that we must be ambitious. It's time to be 
ambitious. We have to create stronger alliance based on our democratic 
values--ever to protect them, but also to share them with others. 
Alliance of democracies is strong and credible toward inside and open to 
outside world. Alliance able to lead, to change, and to help; a new hope 
for those who suffer. Who else can start the work if the biggest and 
most developed democracies can't?
    Now I invite the President of United States, Mr. George Bush, to 
take the floor and then the President of the European Commission.
    Thank you.
    President Bush. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you. Commission President 
Barroso, it's good to see you. Thank you for your time and friendship. 
Let me correct the record, Mr. Prime Minister. I said, ``Slovenia was a 
little slice of heaven.'' I'd like to, with your indulgence, change my 
remarks. Slovenia is a big slice of heaven. [Laughter] And I'm----
    Prime Minister Jansa. Thank you.
    President Bush. ----honored to be back in your beautiful country. 
One of these days, I'm going to come back as a tourist. As you know, I'm 
close to retirement. [Laughter] And I'm looking forward to seeing more 
of your beautiful country and meeting more of your really gracious and 
hospitable people. So thank you very much.
    This is my eighth EU-U.S. meeting. My message at the end is that 
it's really important for the United States to stay close with the EU. 
It's in our interest that the EU be strong, vibrant, and it's in our 
interests to work hard to have a partnership that solves problems.
    And we discussed a lot of problems today. First, we discussed the 
freedom agenda. I find it ironic--not ironic, just interesting, that 20 
years ago, Mr. Prime Minister, you were in jail--[laughter]--because of 
your beliefs, because----
    Prime Minister Jansa. Not very happy times. [Laughter]
    President Bush. You shouldn't have been happy about it. But because 
you had the courage to stand up and speak out clearly for freedom for 
all people, you were put in jail. And it seems like that any time we 
find people who were put in jail because they're willing to speak up for 
freedom, those of us who live in free lands ought to work to liberate 
them, Mr. Prime Minister.
    And we spent a lot of time talking about how to help others realize 
the blessings of liberty, whether it be in the Balkans, whether it be a 
Palestinian state, and whether it be to use the EU as a way to encourage 
people to develop the habits of reformist societies.
    And, by the way, one subject we didn't spend a lot of time on that 
I'd like to clarify the U.S. position on is, we strongly believe Turkey 
ought to be a member of the EU. And we appreciate Turkey's record of 
democratic and free market reforms in working to realize its EU 
aspirations.
    We spent a lot of time on the Middle East. Besides the Palestinian 
state, we talked about Lebanon, Iran, and Syria. One thing is for 
certain: If more people lived in free societies in the Middle East, the 
Middle East would be a more hopeful and more peaceful place. And so we 
strategized as to how to do that, Mr. Prime Minister, and I want to 
thank you for that.
    I thank you for your support in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's amazing 
how these countries have gone from tyrannical situations to hopeful, 
young democracies. And I believe it's in our mutual interest to work 
hard to help these democracies survive for the sake of peace and for the 
sake of human rights and human dignity.
    We talked about Cuba. I want to thank very much your leadership--
both of your leadership in having the EU summit in South America. 
Obviously, it's in the U.S. interest that you do so. We've got a lot of 
relations with countries in our neighborhood.
    I want to thank you very much for your expressions on Cuba. They 
said, before relations should go forward, all political prisoners

[[Page 812]]

ought to be freed. If the Castro administration really is different, the 
first way to show that difference to the world is to free the political 
prisoners. That's something, Mr. Prime Minister, that I'm sure you can 
relate to.
    We talked about Zimbabwe, Darfur, and Burma. We talked about how to 
make sure we have travel in a way that comforts our societies. I 
understand the visa waiver issue very well. I spend a lot of time 
talking to people that are worried about not being able to be treated 
like other members of the EU. I know the problem. We're on our way to 
solving it in a way that, I think, will satisfy countries as well as the 
EU itself, Jose.
    We spent a lot of time on Iran. And I appreciate the Foreign 
Minister, Solana, going to Iran to deliver a clear message: There is a 
better way for you to move forward than a way that, so far, has led to 
isolation. And a--Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly 
dangerous for world peace. And so we've got to continue to work together 
to make it clear, abundantly clear to them, that it's their choice to 
make. They can either face isolation, or they can have a--better 
relations with all of us if they verifiably suspend their enrichment 
program.
    We talked about trade and the Doha round. We're committed to a 
successful Doha round. It's not going to be easy, but it's, in our 
judgment, necessary that we continue to work together. I appreciate 
Ambassador Schwab and Commissioner Mandelson's cooperation in trying to 
get an agreement that we all can live with. It's really important to 
defeat the voices of protectionism now. And if you're truly worried 
about global development, if you're worried about poverty, one of the 
best ways to help poor people is through trade. And so we're committed 
to the global round.
    I thought our discussions today were very good. And we don't--we 
spent time talking about HIV/AIDS and malaria on the continent of 
Africa. The United States is--looks forward to working with EU nations 
to helping alleviate folks from needless death. We've got a strategy in 
place that's effective, and we look forward to having partners join us.
    And then finally, of course, we talked about energy and global 
climate change. I assured the leaders we have a strategy that we think 
will be effective at addressing global climate change and, at the same 
time, dependence on hydrocarbons, and that is through a major economies 
meeting, a series of meetings, all aimed at getting the major 
developing--the major economies to agree to a firm goal and to commit to 
strategies to achieve that goal. The United States is more than willing 
to engage in those discussions. I will just tell you that unless China 
and India are at the table, unless they agree to a goal, unless they 
agree to firm strategies to achieve that goal, then I don't see how any 
international agreement can be effective.
    And so therefore, our strategy is to be realistic and to understand 
that the process is important but not nearly as important as the 
results. And so we've had good engagement, Mr. Prime Minister and 
Commission President Barroso. Thank you for your friendship. I'm--you 
know, it's interesting, my first visit as U.S. President to Europe 
included a--my first stop in Slovenia. My last visit as U.S. President 
to Europe includes first stop in Slovenia. It's a fitting circle. 
[Laughter]
    Thank you.
    Prime Minister Jansa. Thank you. Please.
    President Durao Barroso. Thank you. Thank you, Prime Minister Jansa, 
President Bush. I'll start by this point. I think it's very symbolic and 
important that this summit, here with President Bush, the last one you 
will be present as President of the United States, with European Union 
is in Slovenia, a country that, more or less, 25 years ago was not yet 
free and independent. And today, it's the Presidency of the European 
Council, is a member of the euro zone, is a member of the Schengen area, 
and assuming full its responsibilities.
    And let me underline this point, because it really deserves to be 
underlined. That would not have been possible without European Union and 
without strong transatlantic relationship, because during the cold war, 
we have always had support of the United States of America.
    And this is very important to understand, for the public in Europe 
and, I believe, also in United States, that the support of the

[[Page 813]]

United States of America to freedom and democracy and, indeed, to the 
European integration process was very, very important, and that this 
great project of European integration is well and running. Fifty years 
ago, we were 6 member states; now we are 27 countries. And this country 
where we were was not a free country. My own country, 45 years ago, was 
not a democracy. And now we have from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, 
from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea, democratic countries living 
together in peace and freedom.
    This is indeed a great achievement. And this achievement was 
possible thanks to the commitment of the founding fathers of the 
European Union to a united Europe, but also thanks to support of the 
United States of America. That's why I think it's fair to say to the 
United States sometimes, thank you. Thank you for all the support you 
have been giving to the integration and progress of democracy also in 
Europe.
    So I believe it's important that we put all our relations in this 
perspective: a community of values, a community of values not only for 
our respective nations but beyond, promoting and supporting a world 
based on human rights and democracy.
    President Bush and Prime Minister Jansa already spoke about the main 
subjects. I will not repeat what--everything they said. Let me just 
underline one or two points that are more in the competence of the 
European Commission.
    On trade issues, we must work hard to achieve a fair and balanced 
outcome to the current round of WTO talks. The deal remains there to be 
done if the political will is there. I believe the deal will be good for 
developing countries in terms of new opportunities. It will also give a 
needed boost to the global economy, including the European Union and the 
U.S. economies. Time to move is now. We have a fair and balanced deal in 
our grasp that will help us face the challenges of globalization.
    So I believe together the United States and European Union can make 
a difference trying to bring others to a more realistic position so that 
we can achieve that deal on Doha trade and development talks.
    One year ago, we have adopted a framework for advancing 
transatlantic economic integration, and I was proud, together with 
President Bush and Chancellor Merkel--then President of the Council--to 
create a Transatlantic Economic Council. We have put in place a new 
working method. Today I'm happy to say that in just 1 year of existence, 
this body has brought more and steadier progress on some issues than in 
many years before. We have made progress on open investment, on 
accounting standards, on finding alternative methods to animal testing, 
on certification of electrical equipment.
    This might be seen as rather technical, but all of these 
developments add up to major cost savings for European Union companies 
and United States companies as well. This is understood by all parties. 
There were reports made by the transatlantic business community as 
estimated economic benefits of the items on our TEC--on our 
Transatlantic Economic Council agenda--as $10 billion in terms of 
savings for business on both sides of the Atlantic.
    So it is fair to say that Transatlantic Economic Council has given 
new momentum to the bilateral economic agenda. Indeed, the European 
Union and the United States of America count for the largest bilateral 
trade relationship in the world. Transatlantic trade in goods and 
services totals over =1.9 billion a day, and the figures of all 
bilateral trade and investment show the high degree of interdependence 
of our economies. The European--the United States remains the largest 
export destination for the European Union. In a time of important 
challenges to our economies, we have reaffirmed our commitment to free 
trade, open economies in the face of protectionist voices on both sides 
of the Atlantic.
    The challenging economic situation makes the partnership ever more 
important. As we see with rising fuel and food prices, we, now in 
Europe, are discussing what are the right policy choices to increase 
energy diversification, energy efficiency, and also to improve food 
management. And we believe that these developments make it even more 
urgent to find a global agreement on climate change, and we spent a lot 
of our time discussing this.

[[Page 814]]

    What we have in common? The will to come to that agreement. We need 
that agreement to be global, so, of course, to add also China, India, 
and others. And I believe it is important now to move ahead.
    We have discussed some of the events that we are preparing, like 
that major economies meeting and also the G-8 meeting. And we hope that 
the United States and Europe can work even closer in this matter, 
because we--European and American leadership--it's quite clear for me 
that it will be easier to get that global agreement. We are trying to 
get it by 2009 in Copenhagen, a United Nations agreement that could, of 
course, create the right response--global response for a global problem 
in terms of climate change. We need that not only because of a 
responsibility towards our planet, but we need also because of energy 
security concerns and also because of the rising food prices and the 
pressure that those prices are putting on our economies and the 
competitiveness of our economies.
    So those were two of the subjects that we have discussed--economic--
more in detail: the economic and trade and investment relations and also 
climate change. There were many others that President Bush and Prime 
Minister Jansa also referred, but let me congratulate you, Prime 
Minister Jansa, for a very successful meeting and for the high quality 
of the debate and the open debate that you had today.
    Prime Minister Jansa. Thank you. Now we have time for a few 
questions.

EU-U.S. Relations

    Q. Hello, Mr. President, here I am--Slovenian public television. Mr. 
President, as you mentioned before, this is probably your last visit in 
Slovenia and Europe.
    President Bush. As President. [Laughter]
    Q. As President, of course. With your past experience of last, let's 
say, 8 years, how can you see the future of the European Union and its 
relations with United States? There are certain problems.
    President Bush. Yes, there are problems. On the other hand, there is 
much more that unites us than divides us. Of course there is going to be 
problems and differences. That's normal.
    First of all, there's going to be differences within the EU. You 
got--you have 27 nations all trying to come together to forge a common 
agenda. That's why I'd much rather have my job than Jose's job. 
[Laughter] But there will be differences. But somehow they managed to 
forge a common position on a lot of key issues, and that's where we 
discuss these issues.
    And--but the thing that unites us--and this is important for all of 
us to realize--is that we share common values. And people say, oh, 
that's just corny; that doesn't mean anything. It means a lot if you 
believe in human rights and human dignity and rule of law and freedom to 
speak and freedom to worship. That's a lot. That's a foundation for a 
very firm and lasting relationship.
    And so I am confident that whoever succeeds me as President will 
understand the importance of the EU in regards to United States foreign 
policy and will work hard to make sure ties, you know, remain strong. 
But make no mistake about it, there will be differences of--on how to 
approach certain issues, and that's okay, just so long as we let those--
don't let those differences divide us permanently, and I don't believe 
they possibly can.
    Moderator. All right, we'll take a question from the American side, 
Steven Lee Myers of the New York Times, please.

Iran

    Q. Thank you, gentlemen. I wonder if I could ask about your 
statement on Iran and the communique today. And you described a 
combination of incentives as well as additional measures that you might 
take. And I wonder if you think that that is enough--the idea of the 
prospect of future action is enough or sufficient to get the Iranians to 
change their point of view?
    And for you, President Bush, sir, are you frustrated at all by the 
pace of the diplomatic negotiations underway, particularly in light of 
the IAEA findings and Iran's insistence that it's going to continue to 
enrich? Thank you.
    President Bush. I'll start. We've always made it clear to the 
Iranians there's a better way forward, that if they want to have a 
relationship with the EU-3 and the United States and other countries, 
they--all they've

[[Page 815]]

got to do is verifiably suspend their enrichment program. And the reason 
why that's important is that they learn to enrich, it means they've 
learned to--a key part of developing a nuclear weapon. And if they end 
up with a nuclear weapon, the free world's going to say, why didn't we 
do something about it at the time, before they developed it? And so now 
is the time for there to be strong diplomacy.
    You know, the fundamental question is not ours to make; it's theirs 
to make, and that is, are they going to continue on their path of 
obstruction? Will they continue to isolate their people? Are they going 
to continue to deny the people of Iran a bright future by basically 
saying, we don't care what the world says.
    And that's the position they're in. I'll leave behind a multilateral 
framework to work this issue. I think the Prime Minister said it's--you 
know, one country can't solve all problems. I fully agree with that. A 
group of countries can send a clear message to the Iranians, and that 
is, we're going to continue to isolate you; we'll continue to work on 
sanctions; we'll find new sanctions if need be if you continue to deny 
the just demands of a free world, which is to give up your enrichment 
program.
    They've ignored IAEA in the past, and therefore, they can't be 
trusted with enrichment. And I thought we had a very fruitful 
discussion. We're on the same page. And I want to thank both leaders up 
here and Foreign Minister Solana as well.

Iran/Israel/Environment

    Q. [Inaudible]
    President Bush. This is ``Ask George'' day. [Laughter]
    Moderator. A question from the European side.
    Q. Yes. I would have a question for both of--President and the Prime 
Minister.
    President Bush. Which President? [Laughter] Let me guess.
    Q. The President of the United States.
    President Bush. Yes, all right. [Laughter] Sorry, Jose. Just trying 
to work you in the deal here, you know? [Laughter]
    Q. As you said, he's the Commission's President.
    President Bush. Okay, fine.

    Q. On Iran, I would like to ask you, Mr. President, there is--seems 
to be an emerging debate in Israel about a military option against the 
nuclear installations in Iran. How do you see that debate?
    And, Prime Minister Jansa, I would like to ask you on climate 
change, how do you rate the chances that in the following years there 
will be an agreement with the U.S. on this issue?

    President Bush. First of all, if you were living in Israel, you'd be 
a little nervous too if a leader in your neighborhood announced that 
they--he'd like to destroy you. And one sure way of achieving that means 
is through the development of a nuclear weapon. Therefore, now is the 
time for all of us to work together to stop them. There's a lot of 
urgencies when it comes to dealing with Iran, and the Israeli political 
folks--and if you go to Israel and listen carefully, you'll hear that 
urgency in their voice--one of many urgencies. And I'm hopeful we can 
get it done.
    And, by the way--I don't want to preclude the Prime Minister's 
answer--I think we can actually get an agreement on global climate 
change during my Presidency, just so you know.

    Prime Minister Jansa. I believe in a global agreement for a joint 
fight against climate change. This is, as a matter of fact, the only 
solution. An agreement or a self-commitment of the most developed or 
industrial countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is not enough, 
especially because some developing countries are developing really fast. 
China will, in a few years, become the first in terms of the greenhouse 
gas emissions. And a global agreement without the developing countries 
would be a short-term solution.
    So, as a matter of fact, we really need that everybody who is a key 
stakeholder sits at the table. And I have mentioned already in my 
introduction, those who are most developed should take the leading role. 
And therefore, this alliance, these agreements, these discussions on 
bringing closer the standpoints is of such significance.

[[Page 816]]

    As President Bush has mentioned, the commitment of the most 
developed economies--which is mandatory to reduce emissions by a certain 
deadline--this is a key commitment. How individual economies this reach 
is less important. However, the goals must be set, and we must have 
mandatory goals, and this is of key importance. And in this way, we will 
reduce the threat of climate change.
    And of course, we should also attract to this task the other 
countries. Without the leading role of the European Union and the United 
States of America and without close cooperation, it is not possible to 
reach a global agreement in short term. Therefore, this discussion is of 
extreme importance. And the G-8 summit in Japan in next month should 
represent an important step forward if we wish, in time, before the U.N. 
conference in Copenhagen, reach this agreement. There is not much time 
left. The time is running out.
    Moderator. All right, we'll take the last one from John McKennon of 
the Wall Street Journal.
    President Bush. It's called technology. [Laughter]
    Q. Thanks again.
    President Bush. Yes. [Laughter] Glad to help out, you know.

U.S. Monetary Policy/European Economy/EU-U.S. Relations

    Q. I'd like to ask each of you leaders about economic issues. For 
President Bush, will the United States intervene to support the dollar 
if your current efforts to talk it up don't succeed? And what also is 
your reaction to the Saudi Arabian proposal for a summit on energy 
prices?
    For Prime Minister Jansa, what effects are you feeling in Eastern 
and Central Europe from the rising energy prices and the rising value of 
the Euro? Did those factors pose a risk to growth and integration for 
those countries, for your countries?
    And for President Barroso, given the proliferation of disputes 
between Europe and the United States over food safety issues, is there a 
concern that the EU is being too restrictive on those issues?
    President Bush. Okay, John, interesting idea by the--His Majesty, 
the King of Saudi Arabia. Secondly, I articulated a policy that I had 
been articulating ever since I have been the President. It's the same 
policy, which is, we believe in a strong dollar and that relative value 
of economies will end up setting the proper valuation of the dollar.
    Prime Minister Jansa. Past growth, or growth with little comparison 
in the history--this is the growth of energy and food prices. And the 
food prices are going up due to high cost of energy or oil, and this has 
a significant effect on the economy in Slovenia and throughout Europe. 
This is one of the key questions being dealt with at the national level 
and at the level of the European institutions, as has been mentioned by 
President Barroso. This is a serious problem. It will, on the one hand, 
make us search long-term solutions. I have mentioned this in part 
before. And on the other hand, it will make us search short-term 
solutions. And one of these is energy efficiency.
    We have also discussed this at today's summit, and this is a strong 
message. The investment in research and development, the investment into 
what the economy can do, an economy that is less dependent on carbon, 
less dependent on fossil fuels, this will have a long-term strategic 
effect on the price.
    So the key is the technology. I remember the President of the United 
States saying 2 years ago at the summit meeting in Vienna that the key 
thing is investment in the development of new technologies. This is the 
key strategic reply to these challenge. And as far as the Euro is 
concerned, on the one hand, we are satisfied and happy that Euro is a 
strong currency. And since the 1st of January of last year, Slovenia is 
also part of the euro zone. And I can say that in the majority, the 
effects are positive. When calculating the high prices of oil in 
dollars, this slightly mitigates this jump. And on the other hand, this 
is also a problem for importers in the European Union. We wouldn't like 
to see a weak Euro and a strong dollar.
    Moderator. The press conference is nearly completed.
    President Durao Barroso. Honestly, I don't see the proliferation of 
difficulties with the United States on food. On the contrary,

[[Page 817]]

some of the issues that we have been discussing for some time have now 
known some progress. What I believe is that on food and energy in 
general, there are issues that we have to address together. And some of 
those challenges are really global by nature, and we need to have a 
structured responses to them.
    There will not be quick fixes. Some of those developments are long-
term structural challenges. What is important, by the way, is that in 
the short term, we do not take measures against what is the long-term 
solution for those problems--namely, once again, we need a global 
agreement on climate change, is best way to fight some of the problems 
of energy prices and also to address some of problems of food security, 
namely in some developing countries.
    But I don't see a proliferation of specific problems now on United 
States regarding food. On the contrary, I see a very cooperative 
position, and negotiations on the specific issues are going on with a 
very constructive mood.
    Moderator. Thank you very much. The press conference has finished. 
And now I give the concluding words to the Prime Minister, Mr. Janez 
Jansa, the President of the Council of the European Union.
    Prime Minister Jansa. Mr. President, before we conclude this press 
conference, let me repeat once again how much we appreciate your visit 
here after 7 years, concluding the circle, as you said. And we--our 
bilateral meeting, which we had in this morning, confirmed that Slovenia 
and the United States have established sound foundations for building 
excellent relations. And I want just to repeat the words from the 
President of the European Commission, that without the vital support of 
United States for this positive changes in Europe, before the fall of 
Berlin Wall and after it, maybe we wouldn't be here today at Brdo. And I 
surely wouldn't be here in this capacity. [Laughter]
    But I also want to say thank you because of one other thing. Sir, 
hundreds of thousands of Slovenes driven from homeland by the economic 
and political hardship of our history have found open hands and hearts 
in the United States. Some of them are making great contributions their 
walks of life in the United States. We are proud of them here in 
Slovenia. We are also pleased that the progress that Slovenia has made 
since independence gives them pride. And I'm sure that today, as we host 
this summit, there is a lot of proud Slovenes in the States.
    President Bush. Yes, sir.
    Prime Minister Jansa. Mr. President, this was your eighth EU-U.S. 
summit. During this last 8 years, our EU-U.S. strategic partnership has 
developed significantly. It has faced also some serious challenges, 
which we have successfully overcome. Today, we are closer to common 
position to our most important global challenges than ever. It is not 
too early, but it's not too late either. Thank you, Mr. President, for 
your leadership.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thank you. I appreciate you. Good 
job.

Note: The President's news conference began at 2:35 p.m. at Brdo Castle. 
Participating in the event were Prime Minister Janez Jansa of Slovenia, 
in his capacity as President of the European Council; and President Jose 
Manuel Durao Barroso of the European Commission. President Bush referred 
to President Raul Castro Ruz of Cuba; Foreign Minister Javier Solana 
Madariaga and Commissioner for Trade Peter Mandelson of the European 
Union; and King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. 
President Durao Barroso referred to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. 
Prime Minister Jansa spoke partly in Slovenian, and those portions of 
his remarks were translated by an interpreter.