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Obama Embarks On Weeklong Trip To Europe To Reinforce Alliances

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 23.05.2011 12:55
By RFE/RL

President Barack Obama has arrived in the Irish capital, Dublin, opening a week-long European tour billed as an opportunity to strengthen ties between the United States and its European allies.

The trip comes at a time of shared economic difficulty and heightened concerns over Mideast countries lately shaken by a wave of "Arab spring" popular protests.

Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny after talks in Dublin, Obama praised that country's international efforts.

"Ireland punches above its weight," Obama said. "It's a small country, but the work it does on a range of issues -- from peacekeeping to trainers in Afghanistan, to the work we're doing together on food security, to its strong voice on human rights -- all that makes an enormous difference around the world."

In his comments, the U.S. leader also singled out peace efforts in British-ruled Northern Ireland, where a 1998 peace deal ended decades of fighting between pro-British and Irish nationalist groups.

Obama said those peace efforts had set an example for conflict resolution the world over.

"I wanted to just express to the Irish people, and I'll have occasion to make some lengthier remarks later, how inspired we have been by the progress that's been made in Northern Ireland, because it speaks to the possibility of peace and people in long-standing struggles being able to re-imagine their relationships," Obama said.

Obama also said he is "glad to see progress is being made" on the economic front, with Ireland currently implementing severe austerity measures following a debt crisis that required the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union to step in with a bailout plan. The IMF recently said Dublin still faces a difficult economic battle.

After Dublin, Obama and First Lady Michelle were to travel to Moneygall, a small town about 135 kilometers southeast of the capital. It is the home town of the U.S. leader's great-great-great-grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, a shoemaker. He was to wrap up his visit with an open-air speech on U.S.-Irish relations that was expected to draw large crowds at Dublin's College Green.

The visit looked set to be a highlight of Obama's trip, as well as for the 37 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry.

Economics And Security

From there he heads to Britain, where he'll spend two nights as Queen Elizabeth's guest at Buckingham Palace, followed by a visit to France, where on May 26-27 he'll meet with G roup of Eight (G8) leaders to discuss global economic issues. Obama also expected to use the meeting with major economic powers, including France, Britain, Japan, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Russia, to press for greater support for the democratic aspirations of restive countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The meeting is also expected to touch on NATO's stalled military mission in Libya as well as U.S. plans to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan this summer.

On the sidelines of the G8, Obama has bilateral meetings planned with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

His final stop will be in Poland on May 27, where he'll hold talks with regional heads of state and discuss European security issues.

The U.S. leader is set to meet with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk to discuss a bilateral agenda, including NATO, European security, and economic cooperation.

'Very Important Stop'

Rhodes called the Polish part of Obama's itinerary "a very important stop" because Warsaw is a key ally in Eastern and Central Europe, where the White House's European security efforts have been focused.

Former President George W. Bush selected Poland as the site of a major ballistic-missile-defense complex, but that plan was scrapped by Obama in 2009 in favor of a mobile, sea-based defense. In October of that year, however, Vice President Joseph Biden announced during a trip to Warsaw that the United States would still build a smaller, interceptor project in the country.

The White House says democracy development issues will feature prominently in talks between the U.S. and Polish leaders, both in the Arab world and in neighboring Belarus, where President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has conducted a brutal crackdown since December on pro-democracy protesters and members of the opposition. (A Polish delegation that included Lech Walesa has just returned from the Middle East and will present their findings to the three leaders.)

European press agency reports say Obama is also expected to bring up the importance of Poland's shale-gas deposits for Europe's energy security. In April, the United States estimated Poland's shale gas deposits at 5.3 billion cubic meters -- the biggest deposit of the 32 European states surveyed.

On his second evening in Poland, Obama and President Komorowski will host a dinner for Central and Eastern European heads of state, who will be in town for the CEE IPO summit, which is aimed at connecting regional companies that are planning to go public with investors.

White House officials said the leaders' dinner would be similar to one Obama attended during the signing of the New START treaty in Prague in July 2009 in that he planned to "consult broadly with [his] Central and Eastern European partners" and take the opportunity to "get a lot of business done associated with European security and global issues that we cooperate with our Eastern and Central European allies on."

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/obama_embarks_ weeklong_europe_trip_reinforce_allieances/24183397.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.