The president's news conference with European Union leaders

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, June 17, 1996

President Clinton. I'm pleased to welcome Prime Minister Prodi of Italy and President Santer of the European Commission to the White House. This is the Prime Minister's first visit here since his election in May, and I'd like to congratulate him on his fast start in office. Let me also thank President Santer who has worked with us so productively since he took office a year and a half ago.

Last year the United States and our European partners agreed to work together to reap the benefits of this new era. Already we have seen some significant progress in our partnership in the last year. Most importantly, working with our NATO Allies, we have helped to end the carnage in Bosnia.

Friday marks the 6-month anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Accords. Much remains to be done, but much has been done. There is peace; businesses are slowly starting again; and some refugees are returning home.

I salute the European Union and its member states for their commitment to civilian reconstruction and for the $718 million they are devoting to this effort. Today we discussed Bosnia's recovery, and we agreed that for progress to continue, elections should take place in September as agreed at Dayton.

The United States and the European Union are determined to carry forward this kind of leadership to seize other opportunities in the post-cold-war era. At our last meeting in Madrid 6 months ago, we took a step to achieve these goals by creating the new Transatlantic Agenda to address our common problems, including our continuing efforts to get a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, working more closely than ever to fight international crime and drug trafficking.

In the next few months, in this area, let me say we expect to sign an agreement on controlling the chemicals used to make a broad range of illegal drugs. And this could be a very significant step if we can reach a good agreement and enforce it.

Today we are announcing an ambitious new effort to fight infectious diseases. Recently, diseases that were disappearing have made a dangerous comeback. Diseases know no boundaries; they threaten us all. And now we'll work together to create a global early warning and response network so that we can move decisively against the health threats of the future. Just this morning the Vice President announced our initiative to make this a reality.

The Transatlantic Business Dialogue is a forum of business leaders from both sides of the Atlantic devoting itself to helping bring down barriers and increase trade between the United States and European Union nations. Today, let me especially thank two representatives of the Transatlantic Dialogue, Mr. Juergen Schrempp, the chairman of Daimler Benz, and Mr. John Luke, the chairman of Westvaco, for what they are doing and what the TABD has done. Thank you very much to both of you.

We also are going to expand on this with a transatlantic labor dialog between unions from the United States and Europe who will begin work soon on issues concerning working men and women on both sides of the Atlantic.

We can take pride that this Transatlantic Agenda has made a strong start. When we work together, we know we can meet the challenges of this time, and I am very much looking forward to continuing to work with the Prime Minister and with President Santer. So I'd like to open the floor for a few comments by them, and then we'll answer your questions.

Mr. Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Prodi. Thank you. I thank you very much, Mr. President, for receiving us in the end of the semester chaired by Italy of the European Union.

This has been a very effective semester. I don't want to repeat what you have already told concerning the deep and fruitful cooperation between the European Union and the United States. I want only to recall the example given in Bosnia. I think that we never had such a deep, strong, and fruitful cooperation in such a difficult job. And we have to go on in the field, and so the past must be linked with the future.

You mentioned the problem of reconstruction. The European Union has already given more than $1.5 billion, and we need to collect more money and more help for reconstructing the former Yugoslavia area. Then we have to go on in the field of cooperation in the health, as you mentioned, and in the environment, with the example of working together in the Ukraine environmental program, and I think that this is an example why to work together.

In the Transatlantic Business Dialogue, we are just harmonizing a lot of problems in order to decrease the non-tariff barriers and to increase the trade between Europe and the United States. But the most important field of cooperation will be now in the Middle East policy. This is a chapter that needs not only political and military cooperation but needs a lot of help, mutual help, in economic terms. We can't solve the Middle East problems without a strong economic effort in the area.

These are the main chapters of U.S.-European cooperation. And then I have to mention that this cooperation has never been so good, and I think it is a cornerstone of the world equilibrium. We have to stick together in the future because the challenge that comes from changing and the globalization of the economy is a challenge that must be won by strict cooperation between us.