Key Note Address of An Tánaiste

and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment,

Mary Harney, T.D.

At the opening of a seminar of the German Marshall Fund of the United States in advance of EU-US Summit

Farmleigh, Sunday 13 June 2004

The German Marshall Fund of the United States is named after General George C. Marshall, the US Army's Chief of Staff in the Second World War and US Secretary of State from 1947 to 1949.

Announcing the creation of his famous plan for economic reconstruction and links across the Atlantic he said:

"Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos."

A reflection on this goal, and its achievement beyond all imagination, is a fitting starting point for this seminar in advance of the EU-US summit in Ireland later this month.

Irish Presidency

We are gathering at a key time in international relations.

For us, June 2004 brings to an end Ireland’s six month Presidency of the European Union.

It’s been a historic Presidency for Ireland, perhaps our last in the present form, so we worked hard to make it our best.

These six months have certainly been the best of times for the European Union with of course, the terrible exception of March 11th in Madrid.

We completed the historic reunification of Europe on Accession Day May 1^st.

It passes from our lips easily now, but this was a truly momentous event in Europe’s history. For 70 years of fascism, communism and Cold War, this could only have been a wild and impossible dream of freedom, peace and prosperity for hundreds of millions people.

And yet it came to pass, culminating here in Dublin, in one of the smallest countries of Europe, one that was for many years peripheral to the great continental events, but one that is now an equal European partner and a global trading nation.

And neither Europe’s nor Ireland’s success could have happened without the intimate involvement of the United States.

D-Day commemorations

This last week in June 2004 has reminded us once again of the depth and the strength of the US-European relationship.

Last Sunday, the people of Europe and United States commemorated D-Day, the beginning of the liberation of Europe 60 years ago.

This year’s commemorations have touched us all in a special way, because they may be the last where we shall see the brave young men of 1944 walk the beaches and breathe the fragrant air of free France and a peaceful Europe.

This year was special because of the presence of Chancellor Schröder of Germany, in a deep and enduring symbol of the real reconciliation and unity now between European nations.

It was special in Ireland because we have come to acknowledge much better now - and before it’s too late - the contribution of over 75,000 Irish men who fought in this epic final phase of Europe’s liberation.

We unstintingly acknowledge our European debt the enormous sacrifice of the Russian people too: 59 people lost for every American.

The D-Day commemorations were more poignant too on account of the death this week of President Ronald Reagan, one of ours, a US President whose legacy is enduring and who achieved greatness.

We have been reminded of his visit to Ireland 20 years ago, just before he went to the 40 year D-Day commemorations in Normandy.

We heard again his brilliant and touching Normandy speech: where he spoke of the men of Normandy moved by faith that what they were doing was right, how they fought for all humanity; and how there was a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest.

We can now see what few could imagine back in 1984: that we were still only on the journey of liberation for Europe begun by the US and Europe together on June 6^th1944.

We can still wonder at what has been achieved in twenty years – the Cold War was ended, the Berlin Wall was torn down and Europe has been united.

D-Day was 60 years ago. And V-E day is 60 years ago next May.

The generation that gave us D-Day and the first V-E day made possible this generation’s new Victory in Europe day, Accession Day, May 1^st,2004: the V-E day of the 21^stcentury.

This was a victory without any vanquished. A victory for freedom, peace and prosperity. A victory that is secure, that we shall value, and that we shall not forget in the coming years.

We no longer speak of East and West in Europe or in any one country of Europe.

We no longer speak of division, of walls or of theatres of war, but of security, economic co-operation and a wider European neighborhood.

So this is the new Europe - old Europe made whole, without divisions, tension and conflict.

New era in transatlantic relations

We are at the beginning of a new era in Europe, in transatlantic relations, in global politics.

We have not been here before in our peacetime transatlantic relationship. In no other era have the roots of stability and co-operation run so deep or so wide.

Policies and paradigms of the past should now be confined to the past.

We should build on positive achievements from the 20th century, for example, the UN and other multilateral institutions, economic openness, free trade and aid, international law and courts, effective peace keeping and humanitarian intervention.

By the same token we should discard what is irrelevant or outdated - an East-West rivalry, an EU with no political or security voice, an arms race, a closed trade bloc mentality.

For Ireland too, there are twentieth century legacies we should build on and treasure, and there are others we should discard. In the first category I would put a commitment to human rights, UN institutions and humanitarian aid, for example.

In the second, I would put a tendency towards indifference and neutralism about European security needs and Irish needs as part of that.

New phase of transatlantic partnership

The question posed at this seminar is whether the enlarged EU will be a strong partner for the United States?

I can answer this with a question, 'how could it not be?'

The EU will be a strong partner withthe US. All the conditions are in place for a partnership for prosperity, freedom, and peace.

Based on our values and our strong foundations, it will be a partnership that benefits our neighbours and the world as a whole. The developing countries of the world will do best if we open up more opportunities for free and fair trade.

It will be a partnership for open societies and an open world; not one that adds a Fortress America to a Fortress Europe to get a Fortress Atlantic.

I'd pose another few questions on this theme.

Statehood: internal political organisation

Does our transatlantic partnership require the European Union to adopt the same attributes of statehood as the federal United States?

Certainly not. I am convinced we can make our unique political organisation of the European Union work well as an effective partner. After all, back in 1776, the US was somewhat unique. It would have been foolish at that time for people to suggest it had to be a hereditary monarchy in order to act as an equal partner with other nations in world affairs.

What will be necessary for the EU, nonetheless, will be to develop capabilities, in our own way, to address strategic questions of global economic development, human security and political relations. A real EU-US partnership will require both sides to be able to understand and act in these areas.

Think of two ballroom dancers: they need to complement each other, but it can be difficult if one partner is missing a leg or the other loses balance.

Diverse, strong economies

Another question: will we need to recognise that one economy is superior to the other?

Again, no. It requires each of us to achieve healthy, growing economies. We need open and free economies - open to people and to ideas, with freedom to innovate, trade and invest.

But we don't need the same economies. We need lots of diverse competitive strengths within our economies and between our economies.

We certainly do need to continue deep integration with each other in trade and investment. Foreign investment is the backbone of the transatlantic economy.

European investment in America accounts for more jobs in American than American investment in Europe. As Hamilton and Quinlan say in Partners in Prosperity: 3.2 million jobs in Europe topped by 4.2 million jobs in America.

Since we are very closely integrated, we also need structures to deal with issues beyond the traditional trade issues, such as regulation, economic governance and competition policy.

There is a superhighway of trade and invesment across the Atlantic.

And there is an astounding information superhighway: the bandwidth between Europe and North America is almost double North America's bandwidth with the rest of the world.

We should not, ever, let occasional disputes over beef or steel or wine slow down the transatlantic economic traffic on both sides of the highway.

Let's be clear: there are always disputes, arguments and personality clashes, in the smallest political organisation to the big transatlantic relationship.

Going back to D-Day, there were disputes and spats even then: but they absolutely did not undermine the shared strategic purpose, nor did they lead to a destructive questioning of motives.

Counterweight argument

Third, and last, does Europe need to be a counterweight to America?

Well, some of you might ask, 'does America need to be a counterweight to Europe?'

I think this counterweight question is misconceived.

Going back to my dancers, one dancer is never simply a lumpen counterweight to the other, like a sack of potatoes.

This very notion of a counterweight underestimates what our relationship has been and will be across the Atlantic.

It assumes one side will be the initiator of action and policy, to which the other will merely react. It questions motives. It presupposes that conflicts of interests outweigh community of interests.

It is also a symptom of the tendency in each of our continents for the drawing of caricatures across the wide ocean.

We can do without these caricatures. It's the responsibility of those in leadership positions in public life to counter, and not to indulge, this tendency in our respective continents. And it's also our responsibility not to act in ways that give credence to ignorant or cynical caricatures.

Conclusion

So at this historic point, I am confident and optimistic that the new EU will be a strong partner with the United States, and with Russia and with states in our European neighborhood.

We can say of Europe and the transatlantic partnership what George Marshall said of his plan, that our policy is directed 'not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos'.

In short, we have witnessed and we are living the triumph of democracy. Let us protect and nurture it together.

ENDS

ETE 1230