I was going to write a longer post on the topic of Bush’s visit to Brussels, but I’ll just bring in this quote from this morning’s FT:
Sporadic applause for Bush’s European overture
Still, the Bush administration’s scepticism about Europe’s capabilities runs deep. At a recent meeting with one European diplomat, Mr Bush was dismissive of the EU. “I just go there and they talk about planes [sic] and bananas,” he said, according to one person present. Until now, trade disputes over subjects such as aircraft and agricultural projects and the occasional competition decision have been the meat and drink of the US-EU relationship.
Meanwhile, I understand that the headlines of the NYT and the LAT are only about Bush scolding Russia for its lack of democracy, so get used to it: Europe is nice and irrelevant, or a pain and irrelevant…
Sorry, my dear co-writer Jérôme is getting this wrong. We seem to have some generational differences here.
In remarks to the citizens of Mainz, Germany, President Bush actually set forth four laudable proposals:
- To promote free elections and political pluralism through multilateral negotiation processes;
- To concede favorable trade conditions in exchange for more "openess" of restrictive societies;
- International cooperation and exchange of experts and expertise on vital common environmental interests;
- A significant, multilateral reduction in general armament levels and troop concentrations.
The speech was welcomed and seen as a significant step to a more peaceful, cooperating world – and yes, I applaude it.
In case anybody is having doubts of President Bush’s words, here are excerpts from the transcript:
I set forth four proposals to heal Europe’s tragic division, to help Europe become whole and free.
First, I propose we strengthen and broaden the Helsinki process to promote free elections and political pluralism ..
.. this, then, is my second proposal: Bring glasnost to East Berlin.
.. the United States is prepared to drop the "no exceptions” standard that has guided our approach to controlling the export of technology to the Soviet Union, lifting a sanction enacted in response to their invasion of Afghanistan... we have all learned a terrible lesson: Environmental destruction respects no borders.
So, my third proposal is to work together on these environmental problems, with the United States and Western Europe extending a hand to the East.My fourth proposal, actually a set of proposals, concerns a less militarized Europe, the most heavily armed continent in the world.
A Europe Whole and Free
President George Bush, Rheingoldhalle, Mainz, Federal Republic of Germany, May 31, 1989.
Some generational differences …