SPEECH/09/407
José Manuel Durão Barroso
President of the European Commission
Opening a New Era for Global Europe
Honorary Doctorate ceremony
University of Pittsburgh, 24 September 2009
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me start by thanking Chancellor Nordenberg and the University of Pittsburgh. I
am deeply grateful to receive this honor from such a prestigious University.
It is a real pleasure to be back in beautiful Pittsburgh after my last trip three years
ago - but also very appropriate. I would like to talk today about the need to build
more bridges between Europe and the United States. And where better to do that
than in 'the City of Bridges' itself?
President Obama wisely selected Pittsburgh as the host city for the G20 Summit.
Those who subscribe to outdated views of your wonderful city may have been
surprised by this decision. But I knew that Pittsburgh is an economic and civic
success story that President Obama would wish to showcase for an international
audience.
Pittsburgh has been transformed by stressing the importance of new technologies,
particularly
information
technology,
medical
research,
biotechnology,
nanotechnology and robotics. The University, led with great skill and vision by
Chancellor Nordenberg, has played a vital role in that effort, positioning Pittsburgh
to capitalize on the knowledge societies of the future.
The European Commission recognized your success story at an early stage, even
before Pittsburgh was voted America's most liveable city. In 1998, the University of
Pittsburgh won a highly competitive award to found what is now the European Union
Center of Excellence. The Director of the Center, Professor Alberta Sbragia, is one
of the most respected scholars of the EU in the world. She has built a remarkable
program that plays a leading role among the broader network of Centers of
Excellence in the United States.
Once again, thank you to the great University of Pittsburgh for this honour.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The world we are living in is changing very fast. We are witnessing a transformation
that goes far beyond the economic and financial crisis, and is leading towards a
shift in the balance of world power.
Europe in particular faces a tough choice during this period of transition and
uncertainty: either grasp the opportunities of the world's increasing
interdependence, or face a slow slide into strategic irrelevance.
Despite the doom and gloom of the professional pessimists, I have every
confidence that Europe will succeed in helping to shape globalisation. After all, the
European Union has changed beyond recognition in recent years, and there are
further transformations to come.
Today, the EU is a stable and prosperous community of 27 democratic states
committed to openness, freedom and human rights – just like the United States.
Today, the EU brings together nearly half a billion people in the largest integrated
economic area in the world, accounting for more than 30% of the world's GDP and
17% of trade. It also uses one the world's most important currencies – the euro.
Today, the EU is engaging with its partners more than ever before. It shows
solidarity with the developing world - by delivering more than 60% of world
development aid. But it also shows a tough-minded attachment to peace and
security - with more than 70,000 peacekeepers, police, magistrates and combat
troops deployed in the world's hotspots.
A new set of rules governing our actions - the Lisbon Treaty – will, if ratified over the
next few months, give us the tools to open up a whole new era in the pursuit of
European interests worldwide.
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It will directly address some of the shortcomings that have held us back. It will help
to improve the consistency of our external action. It will allow diplomacy, crisis
management and an emerging European defence capability to be used alongside
more traditional tools like trade and development.
So Europe is re-positioning itself for the much more interdependent world that is
emerging around us.
For decades the European Union has been a laboratory for globalisation - before
the word 'globalisation' even existed. It is by instinct comfortable with the multilateral
approach that we will inevitably see more and more of, as the world struggles to find
effective solutions to the new challenges of the 21st century. Challenges that have
no respect for borders. Such as climate change. Such as pandemics. Such as
international terrorism.
Perhaps this is what Professor Tony Judt of New York University was getting at
when he said: "The old continent's recovery had been a slow and uncertain
process. In some ways it would never be complete: America would have the biggest
army and China would make more, and cheaper, goods. But… In spite of the
horrors of their recent past ― and in large measure because of them ― it was
Europeans who were now uniquely placed to offer the world some modest advice
on how to avoid repeating their own mistakes."
Modest is the key word. I am not saying that the world needs Europe. But I am
saying that we have something unique to offer. In short, we are determined to play
a leadership role with our partners, shaping globalisation with those who share our
values.
And as we cast our eyes around the world at those who share our belief in freedom,
in democracy, in respect for human rights and the rule of law, where do we look
first? Right here, the United States.
Only Europe and the US, with our global reach, our economic power and our shared
values, have the critical mass to offer coherent and positive leadership for the world.
And our citizens seem to agree.
A regular poll by the German Marshall Fund shows there is a lot of scepticism
towards globalisation, both in the US and in Europe. But when people on both sides
of the Atlantic are asked where they place their trust to ensure that the global
marketplace respects social and environmental standards, for example, the answer
is clear. They look to the EU and the US, and their joint efforts to establish the
necessary regulatory framework for the world economy.
This is why [last September] I have called for a new 'Atlantic Agenda for
Globalisation'. For a reinforced EU/US partnership based on a new agenda:

By re-invigorating the Euro-American economic and political relationship;

By making the EU-US relationship more outward-looking, and engaging more
with third parties - including powers such as Brazil, Russia, India and China;

By reforming the architecture of international co-operation;

By joining our efforts to mitigate climate change while achieving greater energy
security;
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
By defending and reinforcing an open, rules-based, multilateral trading system;

By making further progress towards achieving the Millennium Development
Goals; and

By launching a comprehensive review of respective EU and US efforts to secure
international peace and security.
We want to engage the US in such an agenda, starting at the upcoming EU/US
Summit in Washington in early November. This would send an important signal to
the world that we are determined to reinforce the strategic effect of our partnership
by reaching out to others, in search of new partnerships and new multilateral
strategies. That we are determined to mould the structures of global governance
together.
In some ways, this reinvigorated Transatlantic partnership is beginning to take
shape spontaneously, as the economic and financial crisis forces us all to step up
the pace of global co-operation.
A look back at the last few months shows that both sides have significantly raised
the level of contacts, including at the highest level: President Obama and I have
worked well together at several useful meetings this year: at the G20 Summit in
London, the informal EU-US Summit in Prague, and the G8 Summit in Aquila. We
will meet again now, here at the G20 Summit, and again at the EU-US Summit later
this year.
The Pittsburgh G20 summit will be pivotal in showing whether the international
community can maintain the high levels of co-operation we have seen over the last
12 months, in order to get everyone back onto the path of economic recovery.
Over the past year, we faced the test of an economic crisis which threatened to
send our economies into freefall. And we took swift and effective action to avert
that disaster. Together.
Now we face a different test. Have we learnt the lessons of the past year? Are we
ready to apply them to the phase of stabilisation, to develop the right exit strategies,
and to find the sources of growth we need for the future?
Now is not the time to be self-satisfied, or to assume that our task is to restore the
status quo. Now is rather the time to recognise just how much things have changed
and to begin to change our policies to fit with the post-crisis world.
There are three key messages that I bring to Pittsburgh.
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First, this is no time for complacency. The economic and financial situation is
still fragile. We all face rising unemployment and the risk of social tension. We
must keep our resolve, and carry through with the strategy that has served us
well, and that seems to have averted the worst.
So we need to keep support measures in place, but be ready with an exit strategy.
Agreeing that we will prepare our exit strategies in a co-ordinated way will help
confidence. Even if different countries exit at different times we need to have a coordinated approach which puts us back on track with sound public finances, and
which gears us up to make the most of new sources of growth.
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Second, we must keep up the pressure for reform of financial markets. Within
Europe, the European Commission has put several proposals on the table, and
will this week present formal legal proposals for a new supervisory architecture.
We need to press on with action to ensure a healthy and successful financial
sector in the future. That must include a strong push for coordinated and
decisive international action on remuneration.
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Finally, the evolution of the G20 itself is a remarkable testament to the recognition
of the international community of our inter-dependence and the fact that we can
achieve far more by acting together. We know this well in Europe – we must also
keep up the momentum of the G20. For me, the most striking demonstration of this
would be to secure a swift conclusion of the Doha round – not only to boost global
trade, but also in recognition of our interest to help the developing world to pull out
of the crisis as well.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Another reason I am in the United States was for the UN High Level Event on
climate change – another area where our interdependence, and the need for joint
action, is clear.
This too was an important meeting – because its successful outcome has given a
much-needed boost to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in
December.
It is important that leaders engage and push the negotiators to find compromises
and solutions. This spirit of engagement was strongly in evidence in NY and leaves
me convinced that a deal can be reached in Copenhagen.
What I said in New York was that we need a grand bargain:
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First, to the developing world – if you are serious about the challenge of cutting
emissions, we will be there to help, including with financial support. But we need
developing countries to contribute to mitigation. In other words, no action, no
money.
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Second, to others in the developed world – as well as delivering on our binding
mitigation targets, we need to make a credible financial commitment to the
developing world. In other words, no money, no deal.
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The Commission estimates that developing countries will need an additional 150
billion dollars a year by 2020. Although only 20 to 40 percent of this will come
from international finance flows, the European Union must stand ready to pay its
fair share.
The coming months will be critical to Copenhagen's success. The time for playing
high-stakes poker – and can the stakes get any higher than this? - is over.
Now is the time for putting offers on the table – generous offers at the very limits of
our political constraints. Everyone now needs to be as ambitious as they can be, as
the UNFCCC negotiations proper resume in Bangkok next week.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Reform of financial markets and the fight against climate change are two of the key
areas where the EU and the US can work more closely together. And I would
encourage the United States to be even more ambitious in these areas. But there
are plenty of others, like poverty, human rights, and energy security.
So as a new era opens for a more global Europe, I say to the United States: in
Europe you have a partner you can count on. Let's work together. Let's build even
more bridges.
Thank you.
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