Brussels, 14/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - Thursday, in a speech scheduled a long way back over the transatlantic relationship, the outgoing American Ambassador to the Union, Richard Morningstar, made a point of referring to, "not only about what I believe really matters about this relationship, but the reasons why it is worth working hard to nourish and build upon it", which he called this "great relationship", calling on his audience to "recognise that the US-EU partnership requires special care, particularly in what is after all its early stages". "I leave Brussels with a great sense of confidence in the ability of the transatlantic relationship to meet this new test" imposed by the terrorists that have sent America into mourning and sure that with the "assistance of our friends and allies, we will be able to put a formidable range of expertise and resources into this struggle", he said.
"I had prepared a speech today about the transatlantic relationship.(…), however a tragedy like this has the capacity to concentrate the mind on what is really important", Mr. Morningsstar confided to the Assembly gathered by the "European Policy Centre" and the "Centre for European Policy Studies", before which he was saying his farewell and sharing the lessons learnt from his experiences in Brussels (which he leaves on Friday) and the tragic events o last Tuesday. The American Mission "has been overwhelmed by the expressions of sympathy and support we have received over these last few days", the Ambassador declared, praising the rapid and profoundly friendly reaction from Europeans, at institutional level - saying he had been "particularly moved by the words of President Prodi", and at personal level, where there had been a "an extraordinary outpouring of support". "This sense of solidarity is going to be extremely important in the coming months", he said before turning to "several things that are already clear" to have emerged from these horrific attacks: 1) the real enemy of the terrorists "is ultimately a whole way of life - a society based upon democracy, freedom of expression, and the rule of law"; 2) "these terrorists are convinced that America and Europe can be cowed by violence"; 3) "they are seeking to drive a wedge in our alliance".
Mr. Morningstar returned at length to what "we all too easily forget in our day-t-day management of US-EU relations - the fact that this is much more than just an economic relationship." "Too often, we gloss over the range of values and interests we share", "too often, we throw out a ritual line or two in a speech about our common values, before launching into lengthy criticisms of one another on our policy differences. The result is a focus on our disputes and differences rather than on our commonalities. This is wrong", he said stressing to what extent the "United States and the EU manage to work well together when we put our minds to it", but, according to him, "the disputes are simply the exceptions by which we define the enormous scope of our cooperation", and "the key" to "resolving disputes has been getting each side to rise above the minutiae of an issue and focus on what are our ultimate societal objectives. There is where the commonalities are", including regarding security and in the economic sphere, he added, turning to "our success in the Balkans", cooperation between NATO and the EU in Southern Serbia and Macedonia, and welcoming the "hard work of Pascal Lamy and Bob Zoellick in the hope of leading the world toward the launch of a new WTO Round in Doha. According o him from this comes "a renewed sense of common purpose that does not ignore our differences, but one that will allow us to rise above them". He then invited the partners "just to put them into context", to "think creatively about how to ensure that the relationship, as it grows and changes, continues to deliver on its full potential" and to remember that "we are talking about something different from the sum total of the US bilateral relationship with the 15 EU Member States". As it is particularly obvious at this moment, he said, "the US is not just another 'third country' for the EU" and, "likewise the EU is no longer just a group of sovereign countries acting as a single trading block. We are big and important and special for each other. Let's take the time and effort to give this partnership the space in which it will flourish"