official texts and speeches
“EuroAtlantica: A Community of Values” Conference
Opening Remarks by Ambassador Thomas J. Miller
Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki
December 6, 2002
Mr. Minister, Honored Guests,
I am honored to be here today to welcome you to the EuroAtlantica forum, as the Minister said, jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace, by the US Mission in Greece and very much in view of Greece’s upcoming EU presidency.
We have often heard speakers invoke the old Chinese proverb “May you live in interesting times.” It is usually described as a curse, an allusion to trouble or to dislocation or to death. As a diplomat, I really do not see things that way. Today indeed we are living in very interesting times. In fact, among the most interesting in my professional diplomatic career over the last 27 years. Certainly, there are troubles, but with troubles come opportunities. I do believe that this is a time of hope for a better world, and of new developments that should give us courage that our path that we are embarked on right now is the correct path.
What we will be talking about at this conference are the materials and the methods of diplomacy in the broadest sense. Diplomacy, I think we all would agree, has been proven time and time again to be a tremendous force for good in the post-September 11th world that we all live in. Consider for just a moment the following recent achievements:
• First, the transformation and enlargement of NATO, to embrace seven new members, with new capabilities, and with new relationships.
• Second, what we will see next week, most likely, the acceptance of ten new members in the European Union.
• Third, the unanimous decision -- going against the expectations of many around the world -- of the Security Council, on November 8th, Resolution 1441, to verify and if necessary enforce with military means Iraq’s disarmament with respect to Weapons of Mass Destruction and their delivery systems.
These are just a few recent and more dramatic examples of the importance of diplomacy at all levels and around the world. One of the key features of this diplomacy is an enhanced dialogue and partnership that spans the Atlantic, joining the United States and the countries of Europe. Multi-lateral arrangements, I do sincerely believe, are more important now than ever before. A reinvigorated NATO coming out of Prague is central to this dialogue, but so are the US-EU relationship, the G-8, and other informal and more formal mechanisms for cooperation and partnerships across the Atlantic.
Earlier this year, I recall the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs published three volumes of documents detailing all the good that the Marshall Plan had done in Greece over a half century ago. These documents very vividly remind us of our shared history. The civilized world emerged victorious but exhausted from World War II. A number of inspired leaders after the war, vowed to make sure that the mistakes made after World War I -- the so-called War to End All Wars -- would never be repeated.
The core of that effort was a shared vision of a united democratic Europe as the bastion against such future threats. In August 1949, the Greek Ambassador to Washington reported back to Athens. I quote: "In reality, the European Economic Union constitutes for the moment only a beautiful thought, since in Europe, due to the prevailing conditions and the tribal differences and rivalries inherited from the past, the European states are unable to look with the necessary objectivity toward the European Union the U.S. so fervently desires." That was a report over 50 years ago.
Obviously, times have changed a bit since 1949, with a United Europe now far more than just a beautiful vision. Nevertheless, the U.S. has not changed its position strongly supporting a united Europe. On the contrary, though we may have, and surely will continue to have, occasional quarrels about trade and other matters, we have no regrets whatsoever about our contribution to a united Europe.
On January 1, as the Minister said, Greece will assume the EU presidency. In this capacity, it takes on a very special role as a strategic interlocutor to the United States and joint custodian of our broad agenda for cooperation. Many of the issues in our dialogue remain constant or evolve gradually from one presidency to the next. This is only natural with a strong, stable relationship that we have. Nevertheless, each presidency can also set its own priorities at its own discretion.
The United States looks forward to intensified dialogue with the European Union on the three areas selected by Greece for its presidency: Southeast Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and Immigration and Security.
• On Southeast Europe, we share a commitment to remain engaged in the region that has been very troubled, for as long as is needed, and we look forward to its closer integration with European and Euro-Atlantic institutions. President Bush and Secretary Powell have frequently said we went in together and we will go out together. Some of our top foreign policy priorities, such as protecting ourselves against terrorism, combating organized crime and stamping out human trafficking, can only be achieved through active engagement with the Balkans – both directly with the countries of the region and through the European Union.
• Regarding the Caucasus and Central Asia, they have gained a great new importance in world affairs. They are now on the map in a way that they were not before. They play a key-role in the worldwide struggle against terrorism. They are also very crucial, as we have seen in recent years, to addressing the world’s energy needs. Yet, the Caucasus and Central Asia, like other parts of the former Soviet Union, remain in a transitional state, as the countries there are striving to build stable democracies and market economies.
• The European Union is working to complete the institutional and legal changes needed for a common front against terrorism, illegal immigration, trafficking in narcotics as well as trafficking in human beings. On the last point, Greece recently adopted legislation to counter human trafficking in this country, and I think this positions Greece to play a very dynamic regional role on this very important issue. My country welcomes this recent development and we know that Greece will seize the opportunity for the adoption and implementation of effective policies against trafficking in persons EU-wide. In the continuing fight against terror, Governor Ridge, President Bush’s advisor for Homeland Security, and now nominee to head our new cabinet level Department of Homeland Security, recently held some very productive talks in Europe. When he returned home, Congress moved ahead with legislation to create our Department of Homeland Security. This is the largest re-organization of our government since the 1950’s. We have taken many steps on our own, but we must cooperate with the countries of the European Union and others in Europe to create a safer world. In an interconnected world in which we all live today, the security of the borders of Europe directly affects the security of my own country. I think this is something that is increasingly appreciated in the United States. I am convinced that the remaining legal and practical obstacles to improving our cooperation can and will be overcome.
As one would expect, one issue that Greece will take over from the Danish presidency has very special significance for Greece. That is the enlargement of the European Union, particularly as it relates to Cyprus and Turkey. Make no mistake about it. The United States supports Cyprus’ accession to the European Union. We are also committed, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a strong friend of the people of Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey, to supporting the UN Secretary General’s efforts to help the two sides find a solution after so many years to the Cyprus problem. We also believe in Turkey’s course for membership in the European Union and hail the steps that the new Turkish Government has taken to help it prepare for accession negotiations. The coming days, or I shall say the next week to be more precise, are perhaps the most crucial in decades for this region and its relations with the European Union. They will require clearly wisdom as well as courage to envisage a brighter future of closer and more cooperative relations.
At this conference we will also be looking at the nexus of shared values in which our partnership, our alliance is embedded. Values like democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. The priorities of the Greek presidency extend beyond Europe itself, to include the Caucasus and Central Asia. Indeed, US-EU cooperation is active in many regions of the world, from Africa to Asia and beyond. This cooperation is based upon shared interests, of course, but also shared values. And here, too, there is a good story to tell.
Consider for a second freedom and democracy. According to the 2001-2002 Freedom House Survey of Freedom, there are today more than 120 democratic nations out of 192 nations, and the number is growing.
Free societies work for the benefit of the many. Political freedom and the rule of law are necessary ingredients for sustainable economic progress. According to the Annual 2001-2002 Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties, free countries today account for $26.8 trillion or 86 percent of the world’s annual GDP, as compared to Partly Free countries at $2.3 trillion or 7 percent, and Not Free countries at $2.2 trillion or 7 percent.
We see democracy advancing across the globe. Yet we face grave threats from those who oppose democracy, be they dictators or terrorists. The stakes are tremendously high. The U.S. and Europe have fought a slow, steady, rearguard action against the expansion of weapons of mass destruction in the world. There have been successes - for example in South Africa, which renounced along with apartheid a highly developed nuclear weapons program; Ukraine, another success, abandoned the nuclear capability it had inherited from the Soviet Union. There have also been failures, as with India and Pakistan. I am not sure how many failures the world can survive. Those countries closest to acquiring a nuclear weapons capability are precisely those countries least under the control of ordinary norms of international behavior and that is a very sobering thought.
Add to the threat of nuclear proliferation the equally dangerous threats of chemical and biological weapons. Current threats around the world make it vividly clear how great the damage of weapons of mass destruction can be, even from small groups, individuals or states.
Leadership is in large part the ability to make reasonable decisions in real time, without, as we all know, the luxury of perfect information, and then stick by and implement those decisions. When we are dealing with closed or repressive states, information is at a premium. The best cure for incomplete information is better communications. We are frequently challenged to tell the world what we know, especially by friends who have seen perhaps a different piece of the same puzzle or picture. We cannot always say everything we know, certainly not publicly. But we are committed to sharing information with our allies, as fully as possible, and that is something we are trying to do. We talk, we listen, we persuade, and often we are persuaded, as was very much the case with UN Security Council 1441.
Let me again, if I may, quote from the Greek Foreign Ministry Archives. I do not know why I am quoting from the Greek Archives and not the America; this time I am going to quote an American here, but it is in the Greek Archives. This is actually quoting a 1948 speech by Senator Arthur Vandenberg, who at the time was the Chairman of our Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was defending the Marshall Plan, which was being vigorously debated in our Congress at the time. This is also in our Archives, but it is better to quote from the Greek Archives. And I quote: "It would be a far happier circumstance if we could close our eyes to reality, comfortably retire within our bastions, and dream of an isolated and prosperous peace. But that which was once our luxury would now become our folly. This is too plain to be persuasively denied in a foreshortened, atomic world. We must take things as they are."
The horrors of World War II had turned Senator Vandenberg from a leading isolationist into a leading internationalist. My message today is that the world faces real, grave challenges comparable in some respects to those that Europe faced after World War II. Though in many respects the average citizen in the United States or the European Union can and should feel safer now than at any point in the past three millennia. The preservation of that sense of security requires permanent vigilance, and permanent sacrifice. An "isolated, prosperous peace" that Vanderberg was referring to is no longer an option for any of us.
At the outset of my remarks, I mentioned three recent, impending examples of successful diplomacy: NATO’s transformation and expansion, European Union enlargement, and the Security Council’s unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 1441. These were multilateral achievements, each the result of tough negotiation among states pursuing what is in large measure a common vision -- a vision of a safer, more prosperous, more democratic world. Needless to say, diplomacy alone, much less diplomats, cannot solve all the world’s problems nor even resolve all disputes. But I, for one, look forward to continuing to do all we can and all that we should to improve the global economy, international prosperity, and humanity’s general well-being.
With that in mind, I wish you a very successful conference and thank you for your kind attention.