Table Of Content

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents A , wv Worn, a al yp Vea ADR Monday, January 17, 1994 Volume 30—Number 2 Pages 11-54 Contents Addresses and Remarks Interviews With the News Media—Continued Brussels, Belgium January 11 with European Union leaders in American business community—27 Brussels (No. 41)—33 American diplomatic community—18 January 12 with Visegrad leaders in Prague Future leaders of Europe—11 (No. 42)—41 Hotel De Ville—17 January 12 with President Leonid Kravchuk North Atlantic Council—21 of Ukraine (No. 43)—45 Moscow, Russia, welcoming ceremony—49 Letters and Messages Appointments and Nominations Assistant Secretary of Defense nominee, letter See also Letters and Messages accepting withdrawal—27 Commerce Department, Assistant Secretary— 50 Meetings With Foreign Leaders Education Department, Regional and Deputy Regional Representatives—50 Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene— International Joint Commission, United States ll and Canada, members—40 Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel—39 Labor Department, Office of Federal Contract European Union leaders—-33 Compliance Programs, Director—50 North Atlantic Council—21 U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Russian President Boris Yeltsin—49 Diplomacy, members—40 Slovak Republic President Michal Kovac—40 White House Office, Director of Presidential Ukraine President Leonid Kravchuk—45 Personnel—40 Visegrad leaders—41 Communications to Congress Proclamations Peacekeeping operations in the former Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday—50 Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, letter—20 National Good Teen Day—52 Communications to Federal Agencies Religious Freedom Day—51 Assistance to the states of the former Soviet Statements by the President Union—19 See Appointments and Nominations Interviews With the News Media Supplementary Materials Exchanges with reporters Brussels, Belgium—11 Acts approved by the President—54 Prague, Czech Republic—39, 40 Checklist of White House press releases—54 News conferences Digest of other White House January 10 in Brussels (No. 39)—23 announcements—53 January 11 in Brussels (No. 40)—30 Nominations submitted to the Senate—54 Editor’s Note: The President was in Moscow, Russia, on January 14, the closing date of this issue. Releases and announcements issued by the Office of the Press Secretary but not received in time for inclusion in this issue will be printed next week. WEEKLY COMPILATION OF regulations prescribed by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, approved by the President (37 FR 23607; 1 CFR Part 10). PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Docu- ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. 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Week Ending Friday, January 14, 1994 Exchange With Reporters Prior to and with many of Europe’s future leaders in Discussions With Prime Minister this great hall of history. Jean-Luc Dehaene of Belgium in I first came to Brussels as a young man Brussels in a very different but a difficult time, when January 9, 1994 the future for us was uncertain. It is fitting that my first trip to Europe as President be Bosnia about building a better future for the young Q. Mr. President, do you think that Bosnia people of Europe and the United States should be at the top of the agenda for the today and that it begin here in Belgium. As NATO consideration ? a great capital and as the headquarters of The President. Well, we'll discuss that NATO and the European Union, Brussels and a number of other things. We have a and Belgium have long been at the center lot of issues to discuss. But the Prime Min- of Europe’s steady progress toward greater ister and I will discuss that and several other security and greater prosperity. For those of issues. As you know, he’s just ended a tour you who know anything about me personally, of 6 months in the presidency of the EU, I also have a great personal debt of nearly and in my judgment, he and Belgium did 40 years standing to this country because it a superb job. They were very instrumental was a Belgian, Adolphe Sax, who invented in the successes we had last summer in the the saxophone. [Laughter] G-7 meeting, which laid the foundation for I have come here at this time because I the adoption of the GATT round. So we're believe that it is time for us together to revi- going to talk a little about that, too. talize our partnership and to define a new security at a time of historic change. It is President’s Mother a new day for our transatlantic partnership: Q. Mr. President, are you finding it dif- The cold war is over; Germany is united; the ficult to engage in diplomacy after your per- Soviet Union is gone; and a constitutional de- sonal loss? mocracy governs Russia. The specter that The President. No, I’m glad to be here. haunted our citizens for decades, of tanks My family and my friends and my mother’s rolling in through Fulda Gap or nuclear anni- friends, we had a wonderful day yesterday, hilation raining from the sky, that specter, and I’m doing what I should be doing. I’m thank God, has largely vanished. Your gen- glad to have the opportunity to be here and eration is the beneficiary of those miraculous go back to work. transformations. In the end, the Iron Curtain rusted from NoTE: The exchange began at 1:55 p.m. at the within and was brought crashing down by the Conrad Hotel. A tape was not available for ver- determination of brave men and women to ification of the content of this exchange. live free, by the Poles and the Czechs, by the Russians, the Ukrainians, the people of Remarks to Future Leaders of the Baltics, by all those who understood that Europe in Brussels neither economics nor consciences can be or- dered from above. Equally important, how- January 9, 1994 ever, their heroic efforts succeeded because Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, our resolve never failed, because the weap- Mr. Mayor, distinguished leaders. I’m de- ons of deterrence never disappeared and the lighted to be here with the Prime Minister message of democracy never disappeared. ll 12 Jan. 9 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994 As the East enjoys a new birth of freedom, triumphs. And we should speak honestly one of freedom’s great victories lives here in about what we feel about where we are and Europe’s West: the peaceful cleaving to- where we should go. gether of nations which clashed for centuries. This is the truth as I see it. We served The transformation was wrought by visionary history well during the cold war, but now his- leaders such as Monnet, Schumann, Spaak, tory calls on us again to help consolidate free- and Marshall, who understood that modern dom’s new gains into a larger and a more nations can enrich their futures more lasting peace. We must build a new security through cooperation than conquest. My ad- for Europe. The old security was based on ministration supports European union and the defense of our bloc against another bloc. Europe’s development of stronger institu- The new security must be found in Europe’s tions of common purpose and common ac- integration, an integration of security forces, tion. We recognize we will benefit more from of market economies, of national democ- a strong and equal partner than from a weak racies. The purpose of my trip to Europe is one. to help lead the movement to that integration The fall of the Soviet empire and Western and to assure you that America will be a Europe’s integration are the two greatest ad- strong partner in it. vances for peace in the last half of the 20th For the peoples who broke communism’s century. All of us are reaping their blessings. chains, we now see a race between rejuvena- In particular, with the cold war over and in tion and despair. And the outcome will— ee of the present global recession which bound to shape the security of every nation clouds your future, all our nations now have in the transatlantic alliance. Today that race the opportunity to take long, deferred steps is being played out from the Balkans to toward economic and social renewal. My own central Asia. In one lane are the heirs of the Nation has made a beginning in putting our enlightenment who seek to consolidate free- economic house in order, reducing our defi- dom’s gains by building free economies, open cits, investing in our people, creating jobs, democracies, and tolerant civic cultures. Pit- and sparking an economic recovery that we ted against them are the grim pretenders to hope will help not only the United States but tyranny’s dark throne, the militant national- also will lift all nations. We’re also facing up ists and demagogues who fan suspicions that to some of the social problems in our country are ancient and parade the pain of renewal we have ignored for too long, from the chal- in order to obscure the promise of reform. lenge to provide universal health care to re- We, none of us, can afford to be bystanders ducing crime in our streets to dealing with of that race. Too much is at stake. Consider the needs of our poor children. We have a this: The coming months and years may de- truly multicultural society. In one of our cide whether the Russian people continue to counties there are people from over 150 dif- develop a peaceful market democracy or ferent national and ethnic groups. But we are whether, in frustration, they elect leaders working to build an American community for who incline back toward authoritarianism the 21st century. and empire. This period may determine And with the European Union, we have whether the nations- neighboring Russia recently led the world to a new GATT agree- thrive in freedom and join the ranks of non- ment that will create millions of new jobs nuclear states or founder under the strain of in all our countries. In many ways, it would reform and cling to weapons that increase be easy to offer you only a message of simple the risk of nuclear accident or diversion. This celebration,t o trumpet our common herit- period may decide whether the states of the age, to rejoice that our labors for peace have former Soviet bloc are woven into the fabric been rewarded, to cheer on the economic of transatlantic prosperity and security or are progress that is occurring. But this is not a simply left hanging in isolation as they face time for self-congratulation. And certainly we the same daunting changes gripping so many have enough challenges that we should act others in Europe. as true partners. That is, we should share one These pivotal decisions ultimately rest with another’s burdens rather than only talking of the people who threw off communism’s yoke. Administration of William] .C linton, 1994 / Jan. 9 13 They must make their own decisions about “Why do you maintain a presence in Europe? their own future. But we in the West can How can you justify the expense when we clearly help to shape their choices, and we have so many problems here at home?” We must summon the political will to do so. tried that, right after World War I. The The task requires a steady and patient ef- American people this year proved their re- fort, guided by a strategic star that points us sistance to the siren song of global with- toward the integration of a broader Europe. drawal. We did so when the Congress voted It also requires a fair amount of humility, for the North American Free Trade Agree- understanding that we cannot control every ment, voted for America to compete in a event in every country on every day. But if global economy, not to retreat. And we did we are willing to assume the central chal- so when we reached out to Europe and to lenge, we can revitalize not only the nations others, and in working with the European of the East but also our own transatlantic re- Union, led the world to accept a new GATT lationship. agreement on world trade. I have come here Over the past half-century, the trans- today to declare and to demonstrate that Eu- atlantic community only realized half the rope remains central to the interests of the promise of World War II’s triumph over fas- United States and that we will help to work cism. The other half lay captive behind Eu- with our partners in seizing the opportunities rope’s walls of division. Now we have the before us all. chance to realize the full promise of Europe’s Without question, Europe is not the only victories without its great disappointment: focus of our engagement, we must reach out Normandy without Yalta, the liberation of to Latin America and to Asia, areas that are the low countries without the Berlin block- increasingly important both to the United ade. States and to Europe. And our bonds with During this past half-century, transatlantic Europe will be different than they were in security depended primarily on the deter- the past, but make no mistake about it, the rents provided by our military forces. Now bonds that tie the United States and Europe the immediate threat to our East is not of are unique. We share a passionate faith that advancing armies but of creeping instability. God has endowed us as individuals with in- Countering that threat requires not only mili- alienable rights and a belief that the state tary security but also the promotion of demo- exists by our consent solely to advance free- cratic and economic renewal. Combined, dom and security and prosperity for all of these forces are the strongest bulwark against us as individuals. That is still a radical idea Europe’s current dangers, against ethnic con- in the world in which we live. Developed by flict, the abuse of human rights, the desta- Locke and Montesquieu, put into practice in bilizing refugee flows, the rise of aggressive my country by Jefferson and Madison, it has regimes, and the spread of weapons of mass toppled tyrants, it has drawn millions to our destruction. country’s shores. Over three centuries, the The integration of the former Communist ties of kinship between the United States and bloc with the rest of Europe will be gradual Europe have fostered bonds of commerce, and often difficult, as Germany’s bold efforts and you remain our most valued partner, not demonstrate. And like all great opportunities, just in the cause of democracy and freedom we must remember that this one could be but also in the economics of trade and invest- fleeting. We must not now let the Iron Cur- ment. tain be replaced with a veil of indifference. But above all, the core of our security re- For history will judge us as it judged with mains with Europe. That is why America’s scorn those who preached isolationism be- commitment to Europe’s safety and stability tween the World Wars and as it has judged remains as strong as ever. That is why I urged with praise the bold architects of the trans- NATO to convene this week’s summit. It is atlantic community after World War II. why I am committed to keeping roughly With the cold war over, some in America 100,000 American troops stationed in Eu- with short memories have called for us to rope, consistent with the expressed desires pack up and go home. I am asked often: of our allies here. It is not habit but security 14 Jan. 9 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994 and partnership that justifies this continuing Atlantic Cooperation Council. It includes all commitment by the United States. Just as we the states of the former Soviet bloc as well have worked in partnership with Europe on as the 16 of NATO. Now it is time to move every major security challenge in this cen- beyond that dialog and create an operating tury, it is now time for us to join in building partnership. That is why I have proposed that the new security for the 21st century, the we create the Partnership For Peace. century in which most of you in this room This partnership will advance a process of will live most of your lives. The new security evolution for NATO’s formal enlargement. It must seek to bind a broader Europe together looks to the day when NATO will take on with a strong fabric woven of military co- new members who assume the alliance’s full operation, prosperous market economies, responsibilities. It will create a framework in and vital democracies. which former Communist states and others Let me speak briefly about each of these. not now members of NATO can participate The first and most important element of the with NATO members in joint military plan- security must be military strength and co- ning, training, exercises, and other efforts. operation. The cold war is over, but war itself This partnership will build new bonds of co- is not over. As we know, it rages today not operation among the militaries of the East only in distant lands but right here in Europe and the West. It will reinforce the develop- and the former Yugoslavia. That murderous ment of democracies and democratic prac- conflict reminds us that even after the cold tices, such as respect for human rights and war, military forces remain relevant. It also civilian control over military forces. It can reveals the difficulties of applying military give NATO new tools for responding to eth- force to conflicts within as well as among nic instability and other dangers of our era. states. And it teaches us that it is best to act The use of NATO forces in such missions early to prevent conflicts that we may later will always be considered and must be on not be able to control. a case-by-case basis. But tomorrow’s summit As we work to resolve that tragedy and will put us in a stronger position to make ease the suffering of its victims, we also need those decisions and to make them early and to change our security institutions so they can wisely. better address such conflicts and advance The Partnership For Peace will not alter Europe’s integration. Many institutions will NATO’s fundamental mission of defending play a role, including the European Union, NATO territory from attack. We cannot af- the Western European Union, the Council of Europe, the Conference for Security and ford to abandon that mission while the dream Cooperation in Europe, andthe United Na- of empire still burns in the minds of some tions. But NATO, history’s greatest military who look longingly toward a brutal past. But alliance, must be central to that process. neither can we afford to draw a new line be- Only NATO has the military forces, the tween East and West that could create a self- integrated command, the broad legitimacy, fulfilling prophecy of future confrontation. and the habits of cooperation that are essen- This partnership opens the door to co- tial to draw in new participants and respond operation with all of NATO’s former adver- to new challenges. One of the deepest trans- saries, including Russia, Ukraine, and the formations within the transatlantic commu- other newly independent states, based on a nity over the past half-century occurred be- belief that freedom’s boundaries must now cause the armed forces of our respected na- be defined by new behavior, not old history. tions trained, studied, and marched through I say to all those in Europe and the United their careers together. It is not only the com- States who would simply have us draw a new patibility of our weapons but the camaraderie line in Europe further east that we should of our warriors that provide the sinews be- not foreclose the possibility of the best pos- hind our mutual security guarantees and our sible future for Europe, which is a democracy best hope for peace. everywhere, a market economy everywhere, Two years ago our nations began to adapt people cooperating everywhere for mutual NATO to this new era by creating the North security. We can guard against a lesser fu- Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994 / Jan. 9 15 ture, but we should strive for the best future new global economy, against the competition for you and your generation. that comes from countries with lower wages NATO can also help to meet Europe’s new or that is generated when technology enables security challenges by doing more to counter us to do more with fewer workers. But there the proliferation of weapons of mass destruc- is not new technology to provide new jobs tion. I tell you, frankly, it is one of our most for those who are displaced. This is a prob- difficult and challenging tasks. Countering lem not just for Europe but also for the Unit- those weapons and the missiles that deliver ed States and now for Japan as well. them will require close cooperation, honesty Among the Atlantic nations, economic and discipline, and a willingness of some not stagnation has clearly eroded public support now willing to do it to forgo immediate finan- in finances for outward-looking foreign poli- cialg ain. cies and for greater integration. Our respec- The danger is clear and present. Growing tive efforts to revive our own economies are, missile capabilities are bringing more of Eu- therefore, important not only for our own liv- rope into the range of rogue states such as ing standards but also for our collective Iran and Libya. There are ‘disturbing reports strength. And both of them will shape the of efforts to ‘smuggle nuclear mate rials into future you and your children will have. and out of Eastern Europe. And this east- We must proceed quickly to implement ward-looking summit will give us the chance the GATT agreement. But we also must learn to begin to address the threat on our own together and from each other on making a territory. broader and bolder series of adjustments to The second element of the new security this new global economy. we are building must be greater economic We Americans have a lot to learn from Eu- vitality, the issue which I would imagine is rope in matters of job training and appren- of most immediate concern to most of you. ticeship, of moving our people from school We must build it on vibrant and open market to work, into good paying jobs with the ca- economies, the engines that have given us pacity to continue to learn new skills as the the greatest prosperity in human history over economy forces them to do so. But we also the last several decades in Europe and in the may have something to teach in the area of United States. the flexibility of our job structure and our Our combined success in leading the world capacity to generate work and new employ- to a new GATT agreement capped 7 years ment opportunities. This is an area in which of effort to expand prosperity to all trading we can usefully draw lessons from each nations. Now we must define a successor other. And that is why I am pleased that in agenda to GATT that focuses on the renewal March our leading ministers will hold a jobs of advanced economies and the enlargement conference that I proposed last July. We sim- of prosperities to the nations of our East that ply must figure out how to create more jobs are making the difficult transitions to market and how to reward people who work both economics. harder and smarter in the workplace. It is First, the renewal of our own economies the basis of all the other attitudes that we is critical. Unless we are creating jobs and want to foster to remain engaged with one unless we are raising incomes in Europe and another and with the rest of the world. in the United States and Japan, in the ad- But as we work to strengthen our own vanced countries of the world, it will be dif- economies, we must know that we serve our ficult for the people of those nations, all our own prosperity and our security by helping nations, to continue to support of policy of the new market economies of Europe’s east- involvement with the rest of the world. ern half to thrive. Successful market reforms The nations of the European Union face in those states will help to deflate the region’s particular severe economic challenges with demagogues. It will help to ease ethnic ten- nearly 20 million people unemployed and, in sions. It will help new democracies to take Germany’s case, the extraordinarily high root. It is also in your long-term interest be- costs of unification. All our nations have had cause one of the things that we have learned to struggle against the restless forces of this is that wealthy nations cannot grow richer 16 Jan. 9 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994 unless they have customers beyond their bor- racy and individual freedoms that has begun ders for their goods and their services. throughout Europe’s former Communist So the short-term difficulties of taking states. The success of these democratic re- Eastern Europe into our economic alliance forms make us all more secure because de- will be more than rewarded if they succeed mocracies tend not to wage war on one an- and if they are customers for Western Eu- other, and they tend not to break their word rope’s goods and services tomorrow. That is to one another. Democratic governments why early on in our administration we com- nurture civil society, respect for human rights mitted to increase support substantially for and habits of simple tolerance. The demo- market reforms in the new states of the cratic values at the heart of the Western com- former Soviet Union and why we have con- munity are also our best answer to the ag- tinued our support for economic transition gressive nationalism and ethnic hatreds un- in Central and Eastern Europe. leashed by the end of the cold war. Ultimately, the success of market reforms We in the transatlantic community must to the East will depend more on trade than commit ourselves to helping democracy suc- aid. None of us have enough money to mark- ceed in all the former Communist states that edly change the future of those countries as are Western Europe’s immediate neighbors, they move to free market systems in the gov- because their security matters to our security. ernment coffers. We cannot give them Nowhere is democracy’s success more im- enough aid to make them full partners. They portant to us all than there and then in Rus- must grow and trade their way into full part- sia. I will say again: In Russia, if the nation nership with us. continues to evolve as a market democracy, One of our priorities, therefore, should be satisfied within her borders and at peace with to reduce trade barriers to the former Com- her neighbors, defining her greatness in munist states. It will make little sense for us terms of the ability to enable all of the chil- to applaud their market reforms on the one dren of Russia to live to the fullest of their hand while offering only selective access to potential, then our road toward Europe’s full our markets on the other. That’s like inviting integration will be wider and smoother and someone to a castle and refusing to let down safer. As one Ukrainian legislator recently the drawbridge. The United States has al- stated, “If Russia is democratic, Europe will ready eliminated many of our cold war bar- be calm.” riers to products from these countries. And The results of the recent elections in Rus- all our nations must find more ways to do sia and the statements of some Russian politi- the same thing. The economic success of cal figures have given us all genuine cause these states simply cannot be separated from for concern. ‘We must consistently condemn our own renewal and security. expression of intolerance and threats of ag- In 1931, a remarkable British political car- gression. But we should also keep those con- toon portrayed the United States and Europe cerns in some historical perspective. It was in a rowboat. At the back end of the boat, only 2 years ago, after all, that the Soviet where Europe’s more Eastern powers sat, Union dissolved. Just 2 months ago, Russia there was a terrible leak, and it was sinking appeared to be on the brink of a civil war. fast. The front end, where the United States But since then Russia has held a free and and Western Europe were, was still afloat. fair national election, its people have ratified The boat was sinking from the back end. And a genuinely democratic constitution, and they one of the figures in our end of the boat have elected their first-ever post-Soviet legis- was saying, “Thank goodness, the leak’s not lature. And the Government continues to at our end of the boat.” In the end, the whole pursue democratic and economic reform. boat sank. That will happen again unless we The transformation Russia is undertaking work together. Europe’s Western half clearly, is absolutely staggering. If you just think as history shows, cannot long be secure if about what the country has been like since the Eastern half remains in turmoil. 1917, if you go back to the 18th century and The third and final imperative of this new imagine the history of the nation from that security is to support the growth of democ- point to this, the idea that the nation could Administration of WilliamJ .C linton, 1994 / Jan. 9 17 seriously be involved by democratic vote in Today we can honor the sacrifice of those undertaking these transformations is abso- Americans buried here on your soil by ex- lutely staggering. We cannot expect them to panding the reach of the freedoms they correct overnight three-quarters of a century fought and gave their lives to preserve. The of repressive leadership, three-quarters of a fight for your generation across a broader century of totalitarian policy, or a whole na- Europe will be joined and won not on this tional history in which there was no democ- continent’s beaches or across its plains but racy. rather in its new parliaments and city coun- As in the other Communist nations, this cils, in the offices and factories of its new will be the work of generations. We in the market economies, in the hearts and minds United States have been at it for 200 years of the young people like many of you here. now, and we're still working to try to get it You have the most to gain from a Europe right. All of us have to recognize that there that is integrated in terms of security, in will be wrong turns and even reversals, as terms of economics, in terms of democracies. there have been in all of our own countries Ultimately, you will have to decide what throughout our histories. But as long as these sort of Europe you want and how hard you states continue their progress toward democ- are willing to work for it. But I want you racy and respect the rights of their own and to know that the United States stands by you other people, they understand the rights of in that battle, as we have in the other battles their minorities and their neighbors, then we of the 20th century. should support their progress with a steady I believe that our freedom is indivisible. patience. I believe our destinies are joined. I believe In order to support these new democ- that the 21st century can be the most exciting racies, we are supporting grassroots efforts period that Europe and the United States to build the institutions of civil society, from have ever known and that your future can community organizers in the Czech Republic be the richest and brightest of any genera- to election volunteers in Bulgaria. We also tion. But we will have to work to make it will take steps to encourage cooperation so. among the new democracies. As with West- Thank you very much. ern Europe after World War II, we must get regional neighbors working together rather NorTE: The President spoke at 6 p.m. in the Goth- than looking at each other with suspicion. ic Room at the Hotel De Ville. In his remarks, The broader integration in peace we are he referred to Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene building is not only a European concern, I of Belgium and Mayor Jose Desmaret of Brussels. say again, it is distinctly in the interests of the United States. My Nation has thrilled at the progress of freedom on this continent Remarks on Departure From The over the past 5 years. And we understand Hotel De Ville to in Brussels well the toll that European discord ultimately January 9, 1994 takes on our own people. Only a few hours from this place lie the Thank you all for coming out tonight. graves of thousands of Americans who died Thank you for waving the flags. I’m sorry we in Europe’s two great wars. History records didn’t have more room inside, but I’m glad where they fell, at Flanders Field, on the we could show the speech on the screen. shores of Normandy, and in the Battle of the Let me say that I have been in this place Bulge. But let us remember as well why they many times. I’ve been here as a student. I’ve came here, why they left the safety of their been here as the Governor of my State. I homes to fight in a distant land. They came never imagined I would actually be here as because our security depends more on things President and you would be here to say hello. that go far beyond geographical divides. Our You have already heard my speech; I have security depends on more than the ocean really nothing else to say except I’m delighted that divides us. It depends on the existence to be here. We are here to build a new and of a strong and free and democratic Europe. stronger future for Europe and a better part- 18 Jan. 9 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994 nership between Europe and the United I stopped at a little coffee shop and res- States, and I hope all of you will support that. taurant on the way out here tonight, just Happy New Year, and thank you very talked to some citizens, and I met this incred- much. ible Belgian lady who said, “You're right, we've got to compete. We can’t run away NoTE: The President spoke at 6:47 p.m. in the from the world.” And she said, “I know how Grand Place. A tape was not available for verifica- hard it is economically, but 2 years ago I tion of the content of these remarks. didn’t have a job, and now I have my own business and I’m doing very well, and I’m excited about the European Union. I’m going Remarks to the American Diplomatic to do business in other countries now.” Community in Brussels We've got to somehow communicate that spirit, that belief that we can bring this econ- January 9, 1994 omy back, this whole global economy back The President. Thank you very much. to people here so they can believe in them- Thank you for coming. Thank you for play- selves. I can tell you that, back home, that ing. And thank you for waiting a little as I is beginning to happen. We do have more had the chance to stop downtown and talk control over our economic destiny. The defi- to some citizens after I gave my speech. cit is coming down after going up for 12 I want to tell you how very much I appre- years. Jobs are being created, and movement ciate the work that all of you are doing for is there in the economy. And there is a sense your country a long way from home, but at that we’re beginning to confront problems the center of the future we have to make that we have ignored for way, way too long. together. I think in a way you're all fortunate So I think we’re coming here at a very im- to be serving in Brussels at such a pivotal portant time and an appropriate time. And point in the history of Europe and the history I guess I ought to end by apologizing to those of the world. This is a remarkable city, the of you who have had to do so much extra headquarters of the Commission on Euro- work because of this trip and the headaches pean Unity and Union and NATO. And I I may have caused you. But believe me, it want to thank all of our three Ambassadors is in a worthy cause, and we are going to behind us for the work that they have done. make a new future for the people of Europe The importance of our bilateral relationship and the people of the world so that we don’t with Belgium can hardly be overstated. repeat the mistakes of the 20th century in Alan Blinken, I think, will represent us the 21st and so that we give all these children very well, particularly if all of you at the em- a better future than any generation has ever bassy do what everybody tries to do at the known. White House every day and make sure I’m not my own worst enemy. [Laughter] I want Thank you very much. to thank Bob Hunter for the work he’s doing Mayor of Dinant. In the name of the city at NATO and say that this Partnership For of Dinant, I have the honor to give to the Peace, contrary to what some have sug- President of USA an instrument of sax—the gested, is not a weak limitation on the future saxophone, yes. [Laughter] of European security, it is a strong first step that opens the possibility of the best possible The President. In case you didn’t under- future for Europe in which everyone will stand it, Dinant, Belgium, is the home of have an opportunity to be a democracy and Adolphe Sax, the man who invented the saxo- to be part of our shared security. And I want phone. And this says, “Adolphe Sax, 1814 to to say a special word of thanks to my longtime 1894. To Bill Clinton, President of the Unit- friend Stu Eizenstat for coming here to serve. ed States.” And it says something else, but We've worked hard to get this GATT agree- my glasses are not here. [Laughter] Dinant, ment. The European Union is now a reality. Belgium, and We have to see it through; there’s still a lot Mayor of Dinant. “International Year of to do. the Saxophone.”