31 May: EU-US summit

Date: 08/06/2000

THE main focus of US President Bill Clinton's last summit meeting with Union leaders was concern about Washington's plans to go ahead with developing a new missile defence system. Responding to criticisms from several EU governments, which fear the National Missile Defence Plan (NMD) could divide NATO partners and encourage a new arms race, Clinton offered to share the controversial technology with any “civilised nations”. Portuguese Premier Antonio Guterres emphasised that the US plans must have the full approval of Washington's partners and “correspond to everyone's concerns and pre-occupations in this matter”.

CLINTON, Guterres and Commission President Romano Prodi also discussed relations with Moscow following the EU summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous week. Guterres said he had been impressed by Putin's willingness to turn Russia into a democratic state with a market economy and based on the rule of law.

SENIOR officials from both sides discussed a range of EU-US trade disputes without making significant progress on any of them. But in an indication of the two sides' desire to settle arguments before they escalate into full-blown trade wars, Prodi stressed that the Union wanted to use “telephone diplomacy” instead of “megaphone diplomacy” to resolve disputes. On specific issues, Clinton expressed his surprise that the EU had rejected American proposals to change its system of tax breaks for US companies to bring it into line with world trade rules.

IN AN attempt to bridge the gulf in attitudes to genetically modified foodstuffs on either side of the Atlantic, both sides agreed to set up a scientific panel to examine biotechnology issues. They also promised to work together to fight AIDS and other diseases which affect developing countries disproportionately.