News & Events

The William Davidson Institute, along with the European Union Center at the University of Michigan, hosted a conference March 24 on Capitol Hill on the effect of the expansion of Europe on both the political and the economic relationship between the United States and the European Union.

To view the video clips of conference speakers, please click on the appropriate photo below.

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	William Davidson Institute Distinguished Scholar Madeleine Albright opened the conference. "The EU and the U.S. each have an enormous stake in the economic health of the other and we also have mutual stake in security. There should be no question that the U.S. and Europe belong on the same side fighting terror, promoting democracy and securing peace. At the moment there are some disagreements about how best to achieve that goal." To hear more from Albright, click on the photo.
	U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., told the European contingent that they shouldn't criticize U.S. policy on the Iraq War because they didn't offer any real solutions. "The truth of the matter is, there were really no very constructive alternatives offered by Europe for how to proceed relative to a man whether or not he has weapons of mass destruction and was in violation of every UN resolution that he signed.I met with the heads of state of every one of your countries sitting up here. When I asked them, 'What is your idea?' it was basically, 'Blah blah blah - international cooperation.' As they say in the slang of America, 'Give me a break.'" To hear more from Biden, click on the photo:
	U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., cautioned Europe to proceed cautiously. "In World Wars I and II and in the Cold War, the United States was forced to intervene in Europe to save it from destruction. Let's hope a fourth time will be forever unnecessary. As a new Europe decides its future course increasingly without us, its leaders and citizens would do well to remember that the truth and the forces that have repeatedly brought disaster in the past still slumber within." To hear more from Hyde, click on the photo.
	U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., reminded the Europeans who have been critical of U.S. action in Iraq about the sacrifices the U.S. has made on its behalf in the past. "It would be useful if some European leaders, who were so profoundly and articulately and violently anti-American in recent times, would go down to the Normandy beaches and take a look at the endless rows of snow-white marble crosses representing young Americans who gave their lives for European freedom." To hear more from Lantos, click on the photo.
	Albright, reacting to the speeches of Biden, Hyde and Lantos, struck a more conciliatory tone. "I think that it is very important to consider that we are at a definitive time in U.S.-European relations.and I think there is blame on both sides." To hear more from Albright, click on the photo.
	Gunter Burghardt, the head of delegation of the European Commission in Washington D.C. also tried to find common ground. "Our American speakers have learned apparently the art of the discourse while they expect from us to make the punchy points. We have to strive for the middle way." To hear more from Burghardt, click on the photo.
	Jaroslaw Pietras, deputy chairman of the negotiating team for Poland's accession to the EU, wondered whether the union would be more inward or outward oriented after enlargement. To hear more from Pietras, click on the photo.
	Christopher Makins, president of the Atlantic Council of the U.S., talked about the challenges of EU enlargement. "I think we need to realize that these challenges arise not only from the transatlantic disagreements that have been talked about a lot earlier today but also from differences within Europe about the future direction of European construction." To hear more from Makins, click on the photo.
	Aleksander Smolar, president of the Stefan Batory Foundation, said the EU will be economic competitor with U.S. "If Europe will reinforce itself, it can pose quite important economic problems with reallocation of massive investment, global investment, which can pose some problems to the strategy, the whole U.S. strategy besides military strategy." To hear more from Smolar, click on the photo.
	John Vinocur, senior correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, said American interest in European affairs is waning. "What I can cay, what I know about, what I can talk about, is the source of constantly diminishing interest in this country. I believe it is a shame, a deep shame, of the American media and the American public community that we have come to that miserable set of circumstances. It is not a good base to further develop U.S.-European relations." To hear more from Vinocur, click on the photo.
	William Davidson Institute Executive Director Jan Svejnar said the enlarged EU will "become the world's biggest economy population-wise and in terms of GDP." To hear more from Svejnar, click on the photo.
	Michal Kleiber, minister of science in the chancellery of the prime minister of Poland, said the EU needs to be more innovative when it comes to information technology. "To recognize one of the most important issues is finding ways to become part of the new economy. It is much more important than sheer political declarations." To hear more from Kleiber, click on the photo.
	Tom Usher, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of US Steel, said his company should become more competitive with EU enlargement. To hear more from Usher, click on the photo.
	Jeff Fettig, president and chief operating officer of Whirlpool, said enlargement will have a positive effect on the region. To hear more from Fettig, click on the photo.
	Catherine Novelli, assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe, said enlargement should cause U.S. exports to Europe to grow and tariffs to go down. "We see this as a net benefit for business, for the United States, for the opportunity of these countries to grow and for our relationships with them to grow." To hear more from Novelli, click on the photo.
	Gary Litman, vice president for Central Europe and Eurasia for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the economic benefits of EU enlargement should be the focus not political differences. "Unless everybody constantly refers to the economic base of the relationship, we will have passion speeches like we had this morning and the companies will stand to lose." To hear more from Litman, click on the photo.
	Daniel Hamilton, executive director of the European Union Center in Washington, D.C., said both the U.S. and Europe must realize the importance of cooperation. "A major key to prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic is XX by an inability to deal with each other well on the political level.There's a new responsibility on the part of the business community for engaging in this dialogue and to be a committed partner and to underscore the investment we have in each other." To hear more from Hamilton, click on the photo.