On Tuesday, 10 June 2008, the EU-US Summit meeting was held at Brdo pri Kranju, co-chaired by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and current President of the European Council, Mr Janez Janša, and the President of the United States of America, Mr George W. Bush. The meeting focused on key global issues – climate change and energy security, as well as regional issues, in particular the Western Balkans.
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
The Slovenian Prime Minister assessed the talks – attended also by the President of the European Commission, Mr José Manuel Barroso, and other senior representatives of the European Union – as very good and frank; the transatlantic partnership between the EU and the US, already sound and vigorous to date, has been further consolidated at this Summit meeting.
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
“The European Union and the United States share the most important fundamental values – democracy, free enterprise, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the principle of the rule of law,” stressed the Slovenian Premier, going on to add that, together, the EU and the US accounted for 10% of the world’s population, over €3 billion a day in trade in goods and services, around 60% of world GDP and 75% of the development aid to poor countries – they also, however, contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions. “For all these reasons they also share a great responsibility in tackling the key global challenges,” stressed Mr Janša. Despite holding differing views on certain issues, the EU and the US discuss their differences openly and look for solutions. Said the Prime Minister, “We may have different approaches, but this should never obscure the content and quality of our cooperation.”
(Photo: Bor Slana/Bobo)
“We talked at length about climate change and energy security issues. These are issues that concern all humankind and our way of life. We confirmed our readiness to tackle these challenges together,” said the Premier, referring to the determination and efforts of the European Union to set compulsory targets for reducing CO2 emissions and to reach a global arrangement on this. “High oil prices force us to step up our search for new energy solutions; we are indeed on the threshold of a new industrial revolution. Low-carbon technology and transport are becoming an environmental as well as an economic necessity. We need solutions as effective as possible and as soon as possible, in the interest of present and future generations,” said the Prime Minister.
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
Prime Minister Janez Janša said he was convinced that the European Union and the United States of America would lead the new industrial revolution; however, he also advocated the creation of a broader alliance. “The most developed must assume the leading role here. This is why this alliance, the talks, arrangements and the closer coordination of positions between the European Union and the United States of America are so important. There is not much time left. In fact, it is five minutes to midnight, and there is still hard work to be done,” the Prime Minister added. Special attention was paid to investments in research and development with a view to making the world economy less dependent on oil and fossil fuels, which will, in the long term, affect the actual prices of fuels, the strategic answer to this challenge lying specifically in the development of new technologies.
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
The most topical issues related to the world economy were also discussed at the Summit, with both European and American objectives focusing on a safe future, preserving jobs and combating protectionism. The EU and the US are determined to cooperate in eliminating global imbalances, and to attract new fast-growing economies to this task.
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
The EU-US Summit also focused on a number of regional issues, paying a great deal of attention to the Western Balkans. “In the EU, we value greatly the role the United States played in the 1990s in putting an end to the hostilities 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, through the necessary democratic and economic reforms, leads to peace and stability,” stressed European Council President Janez Janša.
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
The Summit participants also took note of the work of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC). In the Prime Minister’s words, both sides are in favour of establishing the TEC as a mechanism for bringing tangible results that benefit both consumers and manufacturers in the EU and the US. In this, both sides remain committed to the elimination of barriers to mutual trade, a process which will bring economic growth and create new jobs.
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
The Slovenian Prime Minister highlighted the EU-US Air Transport Agreement, the first stage of which has already entered into force, as one of the tangible results of the Summit. The Agreement relaxes the rules on mutual investment and facilitates access to air services. “The EU-US Aviation Safety Agreement has also been finalised, and I hope that it will be signed by the end of June,” said the Slovenian Prime Minister. As one of the topics discussed at the Summit, he also pointed out the issue of visa-free travel to the US for all European Union citizens. “I am pleased that we are close to seeing new countries join the Visa Waiver Program. We are aware that certain restrictions are necessary for security reasons, but nevertheless, we remain determined to ensure that the need for enhanced security will not restrict the visa-free travel of our citizens.”
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
“Almost the whole of Europe today is free and united. This is a very important and powerful message for the twenty-first century. Today’s world is a complex world in which no one party can resolve all the problems alone. World peace and security, the promotion of democracy, climate change and the fight against poverty – all these are today’s global challenges. Even together we cannot resolve them all, but if we fail to cooperate and to form an even stronger alliance, then, I am afraid, we will not have any success at all,” stressed Prime Minister Janez Janša.
(Photo: Srdjan Živulovič/Bobo)
“History teaches us that we must be ambitious. Now it is time for these ambitions to be realised. We have to create a stronger alliance based on democratic values. We must protect these values and share them with others in the alliance of democracies that is, inwardly, strong and credible and, outwardly, open. An alliance that will take the lead, monitor and provide help; one that will bring new hope to all those who are suffering. Who else should undertake this work if not the two world’s largest and most developed democracies?” concluded the Slovenian Prime Minister and European Council President.
(Photo: Kristina Kosec/Bobo)
During the EU-US Summit meeting, a Ladies’ Programme was organised for the wife of the US President, Mrs Laura Bush, and the wife of the European Commission President, Mrs Margarida Sousa Uva Barroso. Mrs Bush and Mrs Barroso – accompanied by the fiancée of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and President of the European Council, Ms Urška Bačovnik, and the wife of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mrs Barbara Miklič Türk – were given a guided tour of the exhibition ‘Slovenian Impressionists and their Time 1890-1920’.
(Photo: Bobo)
As part of afternoon programme, Ms Urška Bačovnik and Mrs Margarida Sousa Uva Barroso, visited the Breast Cancer Centre at the Institute of Oncology in Ljubljana, where they had a meeting with the patients and medical staff of the Centre. The Prime Minister’s fiancée remarked that, as a doctor, she considered the visit to Oncology Institute to be the highlight of the Summit, while the wife of the European Commission President placed special emphasis on the importance of support of doctors and nurses as well as families and friends in combating diseases such as cancer.
EU-U.S. Summit Declaration
Press Conference by the Prime Minister of Slovenia, President of the United States and the President of the European Commission
