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Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier on Transatlantic Relations
Just a few days ago I looked upon the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a place that is at the epicenter of one of the world's most intractable problems – the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin had a similar symbolic relevance for a number of decades, marking the dividing line between the Soviet sphere of control and the free world, until freedom prevailed in 1989, thanks to the courageous efforts of the people in East Germany and elsewhere in Central Europe. The West's patience and unity vis-à-vis the Soviet bloc was one of the decisive preconditions for this success. We Europeans and Americans must similarly join forces and do our utmost to help bring the conflict in the Middle East to a peaceful resolution. I see no alternative to the lasting and peaceful coexistence of the Israeli state with a Palestinian state. The Americans' lead role will remain crucial along the road to this goal. As part of the Middle East Quartet, we Europeans will actively support the United States in its work. Giving Iraq the prospect of a peaceful and prosperous future is also a key precondition. We Europeans, too, have a basic interest in seeing lasting stability in Iraq. For this reason we are observing with keen interest the debate currently being conducted in the United States. Along with other European states, Germany is contributing to civilian reconstruction, and has so far provided 6 billion dollars worth of support. We are also highly interested in the American debate on Africa. We Europeans secured the elections in the Congo at the request of the Security Council and stabilized the country at a crucial moment in its history. It was our American friends who brought the slaughter in Darfur to the world's attention. We therefore all support the efforts of the African Union to bring relief where it is needed. Europe and the United States will only successfully address the most pressing international problems and establish a 21st century order based on the principles of law, democracy and freedom if we work together. This is what the future transatlantic agenda must achieve. Germany will hold the Presidencies of the European Union and the G8 – the group of the prime industrialized nations – from 1 January 2007. We will make full use of our dual Presidencies to seek to coordinate action on all important international issues with our American friends. Europe and the United States are also indissolubly linked through NATO. We have bonds forged by our economies in the most interconnected and thus most interdependent economic areas in the world. We share values and interests – and we also share responsibility. The European Union is the largest donor of development assistance in the world. Europe is actively working toward a diplomatic solution to the dispute regarding the Iranian nuclear program. We Europeans are making a crucial contribution – in both the civilian and military fields – to bringing peace to Afghanistan. We have a massive presence in Lebanon and the Western Balkans. And we Europeans will inject great resources to ensure that Kosovo's future will be a peaceful one. The enlargement of the European Union has brought lasting peace and stability to a region whose past was marred by conflict and iniquity. And now, during the German Presidency, the next step must be taken to enhance Europe's relations with its neighbors to the east. There are three tasks that must be tackled in this context, and new impetus is expected in particular from the German Presidency. Romania and Bulgaria will join the European Union on 1 January 2007. The Black Sea region and the Caucasus will thus become our immediate neighbors. An intensified neighborhood policy is designed to pave the way for additional cooperation. We must further attend to the difficult and somewhat inconsistent trajectory of Ukraine. And in Belarus, civil society is counting on our support in its struggle for democracy and human rights. Our relations with Russia are also of key importance. For us in Europe there is no alternative to exchange and dialogue with Russia. Notwithstanding all our differences on individual issues, Russia is an internationally indispensable and constructive partner. We want a lasting strategic partnership with Russia but, for precisely this reason, will not refrain from critical comment on matters in which our convictions or practices differ. On my journey through five Central Asian states – as the first European foreign minister to visit them – I discovered for myself that the younger generation is westernized and that the key region of Central Asia, with its borders with Afghanistan and Iran, seeks our support to ward off Islamist threats and regional instability. Our policy on Europe's neighbors to the east is guided by a second factor that complements our commitment to stability, democracy and the rule of law. This factor is energy. How can we find reliable and lasting energy supplies? How can we forge stable and cooperative relations between producer, transit and purchaser countries? We hope to find some preliminary answers to these questions during the German EU and G8 Presidencies. Anyone who raises the energy issue also has to address climate change. Climate change, which we ourselves have contributed to, is a huge threat to our prosperity and security. It is not a "soft" subject. It rather concerns vital "hard" international political issues that reflect the hopes and concerns of people on both sides of the Atlantic as well as their belief in a better world. In my opinion this is a new central transatlantic issue of strategic significance, which makes a coordinated policy and joint action by the Euro-Atlantic partners a must. It is our responsibility as the largest energy consumers and producers of CO2 emissions to strike out down this path. If Europe and the United States lead, China and India and the other newly industrialized economies will follow. We therefore need a strategic transatlantic energy and climate dialogue. As a concrete first step, our two Governments should launch a forward-looking project between the EU and the US aimed at developing low-carbon and clean-coal technologies and enhancing renewable energies and energy efficiency. This would reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and help protect the climate. There is another challenge that we still have to surmount: international terrorism is a threat to free societies around the globe. Germany, Europe and the United States are working together extremely closely in all counter-terrorism fields. This cooperation must be pursued on the basis of international law – as my counterpart Condoleezza Rice has also stressed. It is thus absolutely necessary for us to talk to each other about the legal framework within which the fight against terrorism is being conducted and to develop a common understanding of this framework. The first steps have been taken. We would like to further intensify this exchange. The close bonds between Europe and America are essentially based on our shared values. During my first visit to Jerusalem I went to the memorial at Yad Vashem to pay tribute to the victims of the Shoah, the crime against humanity perpetrated in the name of the Germans. On that spot I reaffirmed the pledge that justice and respect for human rights would guide German policy for ever more. It was this spirit that made Europe's unification possible. The transatlantic partnership between Europe and the United States grew on the foundation of democracy and freedom, and is sustained by frank and constructive exchange at all levels. We want to further intensify this partnership under Germany's leadership in the European Union. America needs a strong Europe – as Europe needs a strong America. December 7, 2006
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