It's a special pleasure for me to welcome you all to today's meeting. I'd like also to welcome our radio audience throughout the Upper Midwest. People who are hearing this program on Minnesota public radio's midday program. Broadcast of Minnesota meeting I made possible by the law firm of Oppenheimer wolf and Donnelly with offices in Minneapolis. St. Paul and major cities in the United States and Europe. Minnesota meeting is a public affairs Forum that brings National and international speakers to Minnesota. Members of Minnesota meeting a prime Marketplace of ideas in this part of the country. represent the communities leaders from corporations government Academia and the professions We're glad to welcome today a group of Minnesota leaders of Swedish Heritage were helping to organize a conference at the Humphrey Institute for next year the Year of the Swedish immigrant. We're especially pleased to have with us today Carl bildt. Former prime minister of Sweden and now leader of the moderate party in the Swedish Parliament. Sweden has a very long and distinguished tradition of activist neutrality in international affairs. But as prime minister from 1991 to 1994 Carl bildt played a critical role in Swedish history by Leading his country people to join the European Union. A practical politician was also a published author of note. Mr. Bill has written articles and books including the country that stepped out into the cold in 1972 and in 1991 a book about how to be a at one in the same time a citizen of the local community a strong and durable nation and integrating Europe. We can look forward to hearing now from a European Insider how the great experiment in European unification is coming along facing as it must a complicated Trio of pressures. How will Europe deal with this Eastern European neighbors who want to join the club? How it works. How will it resolve its own very tough dilemmas about monetary policy and the ethical governance of ethnic diversity. Above all how and when will the Europeans become a community of destiny that generates the will and the means to act as a great power in defending and projecting on the global stage the distinguishing values of European civilization? Following Carl builds presentation questions will be addressed from the audience Jane Rasik and Ken darling of the Minnesota meeting will move among you to take the questions. There are slips of paper on which you can capture your imperishable thoughts until your turn comes. And now the honorable Carl bildt thank you for those very kind words of introduction. It is truly an honor for me to be able to come to Minnesota and be able to address such a distinguished audience both here in the hall and I understand across the states over public radio it is of course, I would special to be able to come here to Minnesota because of the bonds that are there between very many people in this state and Sweden, but also between people here and people in other Nordic countries and in other parts of and between here And other Northern parts of Europe, those are most certainly in bonds that would tide yesterday in the history that we also keenly aware of their bonds that are relevant today and I think will be of importance for tomorrow as well. I'm coming here to talk about the emergence of a new Europe and about the need that I see of reforging the links across the Atlantic that are so important to all of us and I have of course the honor of doing so not only as representative of myself for the Swedish Parliament or Sweden, but as the representative of that community of Nations, that is the European Union that Sweden along with others are our member of since the first of January of this year. These days when we look on television or look in the newspapers the media, of course dominated by the 50 years anniversary of Victory in Europe. It was in London just 50 years ago. The Prime Minister Winston Churchill could finally announced that that devastating entire world war in Europe had finally come to an end. And for all of the celebrations that are now occurring in Moscow, we must never forget that it will not extend was the determination of Winston Churchill of that man that made that Victory possible during the darkest years of the war. He himself and his Nation had to fight almost alone. The Soviet Union of Stalin was then in Alliance with Hitler's Germany over the carving up of all of Eastern and Central Europe France was defeated and the United States had not yet finally and fully entered the war. It was the two large extent the coach in the stubbornness of Churchill that carried through those dark days to make that Victory 50 years ago possible. Winston Churchill was most certainly a man of Visions long before that war. He had warned and had warned of what might come and he had made a peace mint bad word for generations of politicians to come. And only a year after that victory in Europe day. He was again to launch new important Visions for the future. He delivered a speech at the University of Syracuse Switzerland where he called for the creation of a United States of Europe as he preferred to call it. And the aim of that United States of Europe was to give Germany its rightful place among the nations of Europe to bring Harmony to the relationship between France and Germany that had been the source of so much friction and conflict and crisis in the past and to build those structures of cooperation and integration between the Nations and the peoples that in heists opinion in the longer perspective was the only available guarantee for the peace and stability of the old continent. That was a very day fishing in those days. They just fought a war and then to immediate after that war say that now we must build the United States or our part of the world in order to take that defeated Nation back into our family and make it truly a family of friends for the future. But today half a century later. I think he the process of European integration and unification has come further than perhaps even Churchill believe would be the case. The opinion of today includes since the early part of the 1970s not only his Britain which he himself never had as part of his original plans because he thought of Britain in a somewhat different perspective, but also includes is as I said since the beginning of this year the three formulae neutral nations of Sweden of Austria and of Finland among its members today with their regrettable and I would hope temporary exceptions of Norway and Switzerland. The European Union is the union of practically all of the nations of what we until very recently used to refer to as Western Europe. And what this Union has achieved so far is indeed in unique in the history of nation and no other examples throughout the history of Nations when they voluntarily or a group of Nations have voluntarily agreed to cooperate so closely and so vital matters of economic of public or Foreign Affairs interest as the countries of the European Union Adam and said such ambitious goals for the future of their corporation. But I believe that in spite of everything that has been achieved by the European Union's of all the enormous expansion of the numbers of members and the deepening of cooperation in important areas. It is really now that we are starting on the important or that really crucial project and it is what must be achieved in the years ahead that is going to be crucial really determining our future. Because it is only now really. That Europe is finally coming out of that long nightmare that started really in August of 1914 when the first of the major Wars broke out and that brought not only to terrible Wars to the continent of Europe, but also to to tell Italian tyrannies that were to devastate the lives of individuals and Nations for more than 80 years. Well, the wall finally came down in Berlin in November of 1989. It was obvious that the Soviet Empire and that the Communist ideology of had come to an end. And from there. It took a little more than two years until the red flag of communist was finally lowered from the Kremlin. It was the strength of the West and in particular the very close cooperation across the Atlantic that produce that true historic in miracle. That was the peaceful reunification of Germany in less than a year. The freeing of all of the nations of Central Europe practically without Bloodshed and the collapse of the disintegration of the Soviet Union as we could watch it and follow events. Not on the in all our nation's well-prepared battle station is our well-concealed bunkers as we had thought would be the play the case, but we could follow this all on CNN in our living rooms in peace and tranquility. I want this produced was of course an entirely new European situation that made it imperative for the process of European integration to make a Quantum Leap Forward the Treaty of Maastricht concluded between the then 12 member states of the European Union in 1991 set set the Union on the road towards not only the common foreign and security policy, but also towards an economic and monetary Union. Bosnia had not yet happened. In the Autumn of 1991, although the disintegration of former Yugoslavia had indeed start but it was evident that there would be the need for far more coherent foreign security and eventually also defends policies among the European nations in order to master, but entirely changed you been situation. Now we hadn't then seen that much of the currency turmoil is that we have seen sins on the European and on the global markets, but it was already there are no obvious that the single Market that we had great in. Europe would not be sustainable long run if currencies were going to go up and down and we would have all of the uncertainties associated with that. It was going to be necessary soon or late to move forward from a single Mark to an economic and monetary Union and eventually also to Common currency. That has pause just a few years since the Treaty of Maastricht there have been problems. But although the problems have been there. I think it is worth noting that the union is taking the one step after the other to implement those crucial essential parts of that treat. We are in Europe on our way towards the common foreign and security policy much certainly remains to be done in the years ahead. But during the past few years the nations of the European Union have started to act efficiently together as their foreign policies on key issues. The Carnage in Bosnia the transition in Russia termites in North Africa have gradually and very clearly converged and we are moving step by step towards certain economic and monetary Union. We see that our economies are gradually becoming more and more integrated and we already setting up the mechanism that will facilitate the transition for those countries ready and willing to go for that common currency that I talked about. When that will be introduced and how many of the present European Union member countries would be able or willing to be a part of it will remain an open question you in the next few years. But on my personal guess would be that we will see the common currency established and gradually coming in to use round the turn of the century for number of the most important key countries of the European Union the key to which countries will be able to join the common currency will be how successful they are in bringing down their public deficits and not belong up excessive public depth its mouth might sound familiar to make an audience but it is also the key thing when it comes to the medium and long-term development of the European economies, but we now have the European economies after long and painful recession recovering in certain cases while the strong Loop and that means that the prospects for the convergence of the key economies of Europe. They look considerably brighter today than they did in my opinion one or two years ago. But at the same time as the European Union countries other than working towards implementing these Grand projects of the Treaty of Maastricht common foreign and security policy and the economic and monetary Union. The member countries are now discussing in preparing for the next steps to come. There will be in the next year the great constitutional review conference among the member states of the European Union and that review will be guided by the necessity of adapting all of the institutions and all of the structures that we have to a union not of six members that it was in the beginning or nine members at his turned out to be doing the 1974 12 members. Has it become in the 1980s for 15 members as it is from the first of January this year, but the union that could have as many as 25 or more member states within most certainly within the next 10 years. Because the great and important task ahead is the reunification of all of Europe west of Russia and in parallel with the development of a new type of partnership with or between the European Union and Russia, which is the by far our largest of European nations. This is a task the importance of which can hardly be overestimated because it is my firm belief that if we are not able during the next few years to extend the stability of the European and the Atlantic institutions towards these the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe the transition there could well go astray, but some point and the instability is that would then result in Central and Eastern Europe would gradually extend towards the West in the years ahead and there would be no way of isolating our societies and isolating. The transatlantic relationship from the effects of that there is dust very strong political imperative. For a lodgment as well, of course as an economic one, there was published just a few days ago by the European commission Commission in Brussels. The year first part of its extensive white paper on have the countries of Central and Eastern Europe should gradually be included in that single Market the free movement of people of goods of services and of capital and there are other plans underway how they will gradually be brought into as they wish to be parts of the political structures of the Union by adding just the five central European nations of Poland Czech Republic Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia the combined population of the European Union increases to around 440 million people that is not quite twice the population of the United States, but it is a very A substantial number of people United within the same economic and political framework and although it will take some time for these nations to recover economically from the long period of Devastation of the Communist. It is likely that they will be high growth economies for long time to come thus contributing substantially also to the overall development of Europe. I believe they will be something like a tiger in the tank for the European economies during the next years ahead. But enlargement of course is not only a question of these five countries. It will also have to include in consider Estonia Latvia Lithuania, Romania Bulgaria, and not to be forgotten although in a different category the to Mediterranean island nations of Malta and Cyprus. and if you add all of these up you find that we are going to have your opinion of 25 or 27 member states within five or ten years and then we can truly talk about the emergence of a new Europe the union that covers practically all of the nation's west of Russia and that moves gradually towards both the common foreign and security policy and towards an economic and monetary Union. I would expect different member nations of the Union to move forward at somewhat different speeds, but I would expect all of them to be United by these goals and by that common institutional and legal framework. What has been achieved in Europe in the past years decades has been achieved primarily by Europe itself. But it must also be recognized that it would never have been possible without the active help and the close partnership with the United States. From the Marshall Plan immediately after the war over the nuclear deterrence and the military presence that secured stability and peace throughout the Cold War to the close dialogue today on matters as diverse as trade liberalization or managing the relationship with Russia. The transatlantic link has been essential not only for Europe and for the United States, but for global stability and Global development as a whole We can never be blind to the important economic progress that we are now seeing in other parts of the world be that he stays shall with it's very impressive economic growth rates be that Latin America, which is now developing far better than most people anticipated ten years ago will be that the hopeful signs that we now see in all of the region of Southern Africa as a result of the changes in South Africa itself, but in spite of all this I'm quite convinced that the key Global relationship for the foreseeable future is going to be the relationship between the United States and Europe the European Union for whichever side of the Atlantic you look at it. There is simply no alternative that can give the strength the closeness and the vision to our individual as well as common efforts as this particular link can be and the stronger we can make Under these new conditions great did not least by the changes of Europe the stronger will we be together? And it visually I believe that there is a need to reforge the links across the Atlantic in a number of vital areas that goes most certainly for the economic and for the trade relationship where the importance of Europe is obvious enough Europe accounts for nearly a third of Global Production of global economic wealth, but to share that's been declining during the post-war appears as the new nations have emerged in the developing world and I hope that will continue but I think that the European Shea is going to hold up some wood better in view of the changes that we see the enlargement and the new growth that is going to be there in Central and Eastern Europe. And Europe accounts for less than thirty one percent of total US exports and more than fifty percent of total US foreign direct investment goes to the countries of the European Union. And growth in this Europe is very significant. All it is today if you compare with the countries of East Asia the growth figures or less impressive, but as everyone knows by mean, you have to look not only at percentage figures but at the base for which these percentage figures are count and as the base is so large in Europe. It means that lower growth figures actually translates into huge amounts of money on a year by year basis. If you take a 3 percent growth in the European Union, which I consider rather realistic for the period up to the turn of the century. It means that there will be added and I'm not counting a lot. It means that that would be added a new hundred and twenty billion US dollar market every year in Europe compare that to what's happening in East Asia. That means that we add to Europe Market the size of the entire Taiwanese Market year of the year of the year in the years ahead growth figures being slower being less but the absolute numbers being as impressive as those you see there. They should also in this slightly longer perspective to this. Of course, we had it the prospects that might be there and I think we'll be there eventually in Russia. It will take a long time for the Russian process of transition to mature and it's certainly not going to be imminent that we move towards free trade with Russia, but I'm convinced it's will happen and that love cost significantly change the picture from the Point of view Europe as well. There is often talk about what is referred to as the big emerging markets in different parts of the world. Well Europe is the big existing Market that I think is going to emerge stronger in the years ahead and we must discuss what we can do young claim in order to make the economic relationship the more vital and important one. There are important ideas circulating now concerning the possibilities of creating a transatlantic free trade area in the years ahead. And I think these ideas need careful consideration. They are difficult areas agriculture on the one side textiles from the other side that you can't simply disregard you have to deal with them the one way or the other but if we can move forward along those lines, I think that would be a great advantage and I would expect significant initiatives to be taken in that direction. Jim by the European Union before the end of this year, and I know that there is a corresponding interest on the United States side to move forward in this direction. The second element of the relationship that needs to be thought over is naturally the security relationship the old threats of the Cold War are gone. We no longer need to count the number of tank divisions on the North German planes or care that much about things like tactical nuclear weapons or whatever and thank God for that. But there are a number of other things that we need to care about. We need to care about that. Nick lenses the drug Runners the red Brown ravishes that are there in the political environment of Persia or the nuclear proliferators that are also going to be there for long time to come we can certainly not say that we have a word that is entirely safe and secure and we must jointly device the ways new ways of dealing with it. We are struggling with what's happening in Boston European nations provide the bulk of the twenty eight thousand troops that we now have on the ground there to safeguard the humanitarian effort and to try to do whatever can be done to promote the peaceful settlement. The contribution of the United States is significant in spite of the fact that there aren't any ground involvement from the American side, but there is American involvement in the form of contribution to the preventive deployment of you in forces in Macedonia, and there of course significant are and other critical assets provided by the United States. Europe is now building his own security and defense identity. We can no longer simply ask others you to do what we can do ourselves in a number of areas, but we must also recognize that key elements of European Security will continue to be dependent upon the contribution of the United States and its capability and of course the long-term security and stability also of the United States and its interests be they trade to be they political or dependent upon their being a secure environment and political stability in Europe. That will need there will be a need to establish in my opinion the coordinated roadmap on the enlargement during the next few years of the European Union and of NATO. Although these are two separate organizations. Their membership will never be identified the enlargement of the to represent really two sides of the same coin and there will those be the necessity for coordinating how we extend the stability of these European and Atlantic structures towards these in the years ahead. So whichever way we try to look at the challenges is that faces? I think that we see the necessity of doing things together in the future as it is done as we've done in the past. There is a truly new Europe emerging they are crisis and there are problems. We are struggling with our deficits as you are struggling with yours, but we are moving forward and I'm moving forward significant the on the common foreign and security policy on the economic and monetary Union that one day we'll be there. Well, the largemont being practically all of the European nations west of Russia into the European Union. What is also essential in order to make this successful is to reforge the links across the Atlantic their contributions can be made by everyone but Let me just conclude by saying that perhaps we can make a special sort of contribution because within that framework of relationship between Europe on the one side and the United States on the other, of course, there are those special links that exist between my part of Europe Sweden Scandinavia, and you're part of the United States Minnesota and perhaps we could make ourselves we our special contribution to the development of these links that I believe will be so important in the future. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Prime minister. You're listening to Carl bildt the former prime minister of Sweden speaking to the Minnesota meeting on the stations in Minnesota Public Radio. We have a first question here from Christine Mortensen who's with the World Press Institute. Mr. Bill, what role do you think the United States should play in the effort to ensure the stability of Eastern Europe? And as a follow-up to that do you think the United States should play a larger role in the areas of Eastern Europe? I'm thinking of former Yugoslavia that have collapsed into war or do you see this as primarily a European problem? What I see, I see that as primarily European problem, but I didn't think that we can do without the help and involvement of the United States. That's certainly the case on the Diplomatic front. Well, you know that what has been referred to as the contact group with Russia with the United States with the European Union has been playing The crucial role then and there has been a lot of discussion across the Atlantic over this the decision has been taken this country not to go into Zeb Boston on the ground while the European nations. We are there I can say that as a sweet because we have substantial numbers of young soldiers men and women serving down there under very difficult circumstances, but we are dependent also there on the active both understanding and support of the United States in terms of central eastern Europe. Of course, the role of the United States is crucial because these nations want to become members of That's the number one wish of an important country like Poland. And that has to do not primarily with the fact that they see an imminent threat to them. They don't but it's a sense of security. They want to have they want to be part of that security family. And one of the key decisions on that is clearly going to be the decision of the United States. Now the administration and Congress is committed to the enlargement of NATO but it's going to be an important and difficult debate during the years ahead on how that should be managed. And I think it is important to bring them in the countries of Central Europe to being in the three Baltic countries Estonia Latvia Lithuania at the same time. So as to make certain in one go how we from the European side and you from this side look on the shape of the security architecture in Europe in the future. Thank you very much. Mr. Bill. We have a question now from Phil Hansen. Who's from Washburn High School. He's a sophomore there fill in a small group are here courtesy of the Star Tribune and Cowles media. I just want to know what role would I unified European currency play in the World Market. What I think it will play a significant role because what we would have then established is of course situation where you have Jen you have got the dollar and you got the European currency at the moment and that's going to be significant. Globally. I think it would be which should be easier to establish Global Currency stability. I can't be quite certain about that. I mean there are very few things that can be certain about when it comes to currency markets but condition should be somewhat better but primarily is going to be important inside Europe because we would get rid of the currency uncertainties that are there and if you have a very integrated market and you have currents is going up and down all the time, it tends to disturb trade and it tends to disturb planning and and there's a cost associated with dealing with that. I mean you can have can heads yourself against it and all of that but you have to pay for that all the time. So there's a cost associated. With having these different currents on the other hand, you should be aware of the fact that you can't create a common currency. If you don't have effective you common economy. That means that we must have that convergence. You can't have one part of that currency is certainly starting to develop a huge deficits. Or running around running away with inflation the one way or the other. So these things must be brought together before we can go to a common currency. We've done it in the past. I mean look back into the history of Sweden. We didn't have a Swedish currency. I mean, we had Traders and Traders in different parts of the country before Sweden was United as one nation trading in different sorts of currencies. They found that to be somewhat impractical for obvious reasons. And then So eventually they decided to have one sort of currency also from the bar of gold or whatever and and the way that you develop your currencies is very very important for the ways in which you can develop your trade. That's of course the key to development of prosperity. Good. Thank you. Mr. Prime minister. We have a next question here from Paul Bennett who's with the Canadian consulate? Thank you very much as you talk of the growth of a more united Europe. I was wondering if you could comment on the challenges that might present within the structure for decision-making. I mean, for example this currently difficulty in decision making regarding a currency. If you have more members, does that come more difficult and secondly the growth of a bureaucracy? I know in Britain, for example that Britain is considering having only one commissioner rather than 2 because Britain is considering that they should set an example and have fewer of their representatives become part of a high-paid bureaucracy. Could you comment on that? Well, of course, you're going to be more difficult to take decisions when you go from I mean start at 6, and if we end up with 25 27 that that makes a difference so that's going to be I think the key thing to discuss during that constitutional review what is referred to in in Europeans would say as an intergovernmental conference that's going to meet next year. It can only be met by strengthening the institutions and strengthening the mechanism also for taking Decisions by by majority. That's all of the case we start to do that more substantially from the mid 80s onwards, but that will have to be extended with new members coming in and that's going to be somewhat controversial in certain countries and going to be the subject of a very considerable debate in our lot of our political environment, but I think that that's the only way of of doing There is bureaucracy, of course in Brussels. I mean, there's bureaucracy in stalker might even be blocks in Saint Paul. I don't know the room is around concerning what's happening in Washington and and you should always be very Vigilant on these things. I normally say that when we are speaking about stocking Brokers and we we have we have less people employed in the entire circle European Baraka see than we have in the social bureaucracy in the city of Stockholm that says quite a lot about both of these bodies, but it is somewhat more and and in the European Union, of course, there's one thing that will never be coordinated that's languages. Every legislator representative that we send to European Union should have the opportunity of speaking Swedish at the meetings. That would be okay. If we didn't give the way to the Greeks to speak Greek and English to speak English in the French you speak French, but we do so roughly a third of everyone that's employed by the European Union is associated the one way or the other with the translation mechanism is a very elaborate one, but it is a key thing for democracy. And I think that's that's the price that we are ready to pay. Thank you very much. Mr. Prime minister for our radio audience. You're listening to former prime minister Carl bildt of Sweden who's speaking to the Minnesota meeting at the Hyatt the Hyatt Hotel in Downtown Minneapolis. We're going to go down to Michael Metcalf. He's the assistant vice president of international programs at the University of Minnesota. Mr. Prime minister, you have addressed the challenges of the EU in the East and spoken of an expansion of the EU to include virtually All Nations west of Russia including Cyprus. Noticeably absent from your comments was the question of possible future Turkish membership in the European Union. I wonder if you could comment on the issue of Turkish membership and also on the problem or challenge of the maghreb to the European Union. Hmm. That's a new speech. My grab is if you be more specific GAO is I think one of the most difficult issues that we'll have to address. What's happening in Algeria. We don't see very much of that in the media but it is it is horrible. It's a society falling apart. It's a lot of Ireland's effectively most Europeans. I mean from other countries like than France have been evacuated. I mean we've taken all swedes out of their close down our Embassy effectively because there's no way you can be they it's simply too dangerous and how that will be sorted out. I don't know. I mean, this is really a very a potentially very which country destroyed by socialist economic policies to very large extent that is caused. Unemployment declining economic prospects accordingly what we normally refer to as fundamentalist and people seek some solution in that and it's going to be very difficult situation whether you've been Union hopefully can play some role and has been trying to play a role in mediating between the sides and where we are discussing also the pressures that could be there on our immigration policies. If the thing collapse is entirely and add to that the possibility of that spreading to the other Margaret comforters. We aren't there yet and it's very much a question of a jail and that is very much a situation that preoccupies French Spaniards take the two countries that are the most directly affected. The Tucker situation is a different one all those important one. It's a very important country 60 million people growing very fast the links that say between the European word and the Muslim world the link between Asia and Europe. The thing that is under discussion now is that an agreement has been concluded on including track in the Customs Union in the common external trade policy of the European Union more than free trade but also significant political problems because the European Parliament the elected body that we have will have to prove that treat and at the moment with things that are happening and tensions with the Kurds and what we see happening in Northern Iraq that does not seem to be the majority of the European Parliament for the treaty on Customs Union with chuck would probably have to be deferred somewhat so things cool down. I don't see any Prospect for men. Bishop for turkey in the foreseeable future. I can never exclude the future that is beyond the rice, but I don't see it on the horizon for now. Thank you. Mr. Prime minister. We have a next question from old recommend Uncle who is from Sweden. If you could comment on how higher education in Europe will be affected by European Union. Well, it is always substantially affected in that one of the things that's part of the European Union schemes is that you can you can you can study it other universities if you want and we already seeing the effects of that. I mean effective you can take you were able to go from the University of Upsala to the University of Oxford or the University of Barcelona the University of Paris and they would be able to come to the University of Lund or you may or wherever in Sweden and that has been a very significant increase in those numbers in the in in the last few years and we had that right to certain extent if I see it now from the Swedish perspective also prior to becoming members because we had a good agreement with the European Union. The problem was that fees for students studying where substantially higher Those coming outside the European union. Now. I was a couple of weeks ago. I was at the University of Oxford and met the Swedish students there and they tell told me the tremendous diff difference. It makes I mean they are praying now paying very low fees. I mean perfectly affordable while in the past. It was very expensive thing. And that's something that is actively promoted by the European Union that exchange of students but apart from that then I think I mean we sweet should advise our higher education the bridge should have that Spanish there's but we should be able to move around between them to use use the best of the different European universities. Thank you very much. Mr. Prime minister. We're going to go now to John here Herman who is vice chairman of the empowerment Network Foundation. What the common legal system is being used by the European Union the British common law the Roman law or quoted Napoleon and if you don't have one doesn't approve of problem. All right. Well if that is not well the problem is that but the problem is is somewhat different one and and the problem is of course that these must be integrated. That's one of the key problems that you take different traditions in Europe and you integrate them into one and that's why for example, if you take the Treaty of Maastricht, a lot of people have been saying that it's very difficult to read as an element of Truth in that because they have that combination of different editions. You don't always have the Claret but there is a very extensive system of common law and there's of course European court of justice with judges coming from although they are European civil servants, but they are nominated by different European countries that are continuously interpreting and developing. At low it is more among along the continent lines of the French in of the Germans then along with the British and the Scandinavian lines for the very simple reason that they were the ones that set up the European Community reading it in 1957-58 while we the Brits in the early 70s and we Scandinavia somewhat later. We we have joined late, but that's one of the most important things in terms of say Fuck companies operating in Europe the competition law and the way that that is interpreted as it was a very very key thing. Thank you very much. Mr. Prime minister. We have time for one last question from Glenn School Vault. Who's the vice president of government and Community Affairs at Honeywell Glen? Thank you. And first of all, thank you for your very interesting remarks my question concerns Russia and specifically the u.s. Russian relationship and I want to put it in the very current context because there's no question but that the US has invested a great deal to help bring about political and economic change in Russia. We've committed a lot in many respects not the least of which is financial but we're facing some very current issues that are kind of troubling that relationship the stability of the Russian government people's views of President Yeltsin the situation with Iran the nuclear issue and there are some of the United States and in some in the Congress that think we should really be reconsidering the level of foreign aid that our government is giving to Russia and I wonder if you have any insights or advice you'd give to those of us here in this country in terms of this current situation how we should approach it. What about 111 listen to the uh debate? It sounds like all of that's going to Russia's USA time. I mean Swedish debate tends to be like that as well. We think that everything becomes wheat, if I remember the figures, right? Yeah 80% of their going to Russia is coming from the European countries the u.s. Element being somewhat less impressive than it sounds in the debate. I think it's important to keep up in certain sectors first, the international monetary fund is providing help on very solid economic grounds. There's not a political thing to achieve the financial stabilization Russian. That's good. Let's hope it succeeds. We can provide help and Aid in selected sectors, but they should be selected rather careful. The United States has been coordinating quite a lot with Sweden on giving limited amounts of money, but very significant in the context for helping with the withdrawal of Russian troops from the former board forum for From the Baltic countries as a matter of fact last week. There was a major major explosion in Latvia when the latvians blew up an enormous gigantic Soviet radar complex that we jointly negotiated that they should have the right to blow up and that was that explosion that fireworks in the Baltic are was financed jointly by the US and by the Swedish tax payers in form of Aid, I think that was a very good example of what you can do. We with AIDS. I'm I'm not in favor of General Grant's but I'm favor of selective 8 and you should with Russia you should be firm in your resolve to help them along the path towards a market economy and democracy and they made remarkable progress taking the situations in to come but you should be also be very firm. On the different issues be that what they are doing in chania will be that their plans now to violate the CFE treaty that we have on the limitations of conventional arms. And you there one must be very very firm at the same time as you can help them along on those sectors where they are making progress and where progress most certainly is in our interest because we are very much dependent upon developments in the in Russia. I mean you are we are I mean, we are the close Neighbors in the board game and I think it was previous speaker that you've had here. You know, we calling power that has that marvelous face when it comes to describing Russia that he says that it it Remains the only country in the world that can destroy the United States within 30 minutes and that's were thinking about so we we do have a stake in managing the transition in in in in Russia.