Hillary in Brussels

Hillary in Brussels: “Europe and the United States unite to confront the challenges”

Clinton arrived at the headquarters of the European Union Parliament. This is the first visit of the U.S. Secretary of State to the European institutions

Brussels

The U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, arrived at the headquarters of the European Union Parliament in Brussels, where she had a bilateral colloquium with the European Parliament President, Hans Gert Poettering, and then a discussion with some young European representatives. This is Clinton’s first visit to the European institutions. Then she will move on to the headquarters of the EU Council to meet the EU Troika, comprising of the High Representative for European Foreign Policy, Javier Solana, Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero Waldner, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Karel Schwarzenberg . The U.S. secretary of state has touched several different points on the Europe – the United States relationship.

“Europe and the United State unite to confront the challenges”

“The EU and the U.S. are united in their vision of the future, we want to build together, and however it is one of those moments of history of which we have no choice, we must stand together to confront the huge challenges that are placed before us,” Clinton said during a discussion with some young European representatives. “The future that we seek to build both in the U.S. and in Europe is full of challenges, but we believe that the opportunities in partnership and cooperation will give the right response to confront the challenges.”

“The Israeli settlements do not help peace”

The Israeli settlements in the West Bank “do not help the process of peace and will be the object of discussion in the negotiations for the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Clinton said today at the EU Parliament. The peace negotiations in the Middle East “will start immediately as soon as the new Israeli government is formed” and they will aim to arrive “at a two-state solution.”

“The crisis is also an opportunity for the climate”

“The crisis is a favorable moment to make investments, to demonstrate our willingness to reach a global agreement on climate change,” Clinton added. “It is smart to make now the investments to gradually convert the industry and gradually become green.”

She told the EU Parliament “not to waste a good crisis, because it can have a very positive impact, especially for us on the climate issue.” Clinton then stressed “the change from the last U.S. administration: we support the need to reach a global agreement on climate change at the next conference in Copenhagen,” scheduled for December, where it will have to adopt a new post-Kyoto plan.

“The European Union is a miracle”

The construction of the European Union and the integration process “is a miracle”. Clinton said this in the course of her first visit to the European Parliament in Brussels. “Europe is seen by many as a miracle. Not supernatural, but as the result of the great work of men and women,” affirmed Clinton, stressing again that the Old Continent “did not live a period of peace since the time of ancient Rome.”