Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I am very pleased to join in welcoming our former Secretary of State to our Committee this morning.

Since the end of the Cold War fifteen years ago, and the removal of the threat of Soviet invasion that had bound us so closely together, we have been watching to see how the relationship between the United States and the states of Europe might change.
 
We can see that the European countries are undergoing significant changes that will have a very important impact on our relations with them.

Right now, of course, we have a significant change of leadership taking place in France, with the election of the new President, and in Britain, where Tony Blair will soon be stepping down and be succeeded as Prime Minister by Gordon Brown.

This follows the rise of Angela Merkel to the office of Chancellor in Germany and the change of leadership in Italy.

Also in Poland there have been significant changes in the foreign and domestic posts.

These leadership changes in some of Europe’s most important states, are taking place against the backdrop of more fundamental political, economic and demographic changes.

The rapid expansion of the European Union over the past decade has apparently led to a sort of “Euro fatigue” among many West Europeans, as demonstrated by the refusal of French and Dutch voters to approve the proposed constitution for the EU.

Within the EU, there has long been a sense of concern among its other member-states over the leading role that France and Germany have played within that organization.

Moreover, the relationship of France and Germany within the EU is also undergoing change, with Germany entering a new foreign policy phase, now more willing to take the political lead within Europe that it had long ceded to France.

As Germany now seeks to revive the drive to adopt an EU constitution of some sort, crucial questions for EU member-states involve:

• how much more of their sovereignty they are willing to cede to the EU and
• what greater role will the EU have in formulating foreign policy on behalf of all of its members.

In much of the EU, large minority communities have taken root and present Europe with a challenge of assimilation that it has not yet mastered.

And, finally, many of the leading European states are saddled with expensive social welfare programs that weigh down economic growth, despite the presence in Europe of some of the world’s most advanced industries.

With this and much more taking place within Europe;
with somewhat unpredictable political trends further to the East, in Ukraine and perhaps Russia;
with the question of the status of Kosovo still unsolved; and with authoritarianism alive and well in Belarus and Russia,
the United States must find a way to maintain the strength of our trans-Atlantic relationship, in order to ensure European cooperation on issues that most concern global security and stability and the future of democracy.

We continue, of course, to seek to underline a new mission for the NATO Alliance that goes beyond Europe, to support collective security in places like Afghanistan and perhaps in strife-torn African regions.

But we are also searching for ways to ensure that the leading states of Europe see the necessity to vigorously stand up to specific challenges that now confront us.

We have an Iran that is clearly seeking nuclear weapons.

With such weapons, it might well achieve its goal of regional domination and drive other states to acquire their own nuclear capabilities to offset this aggression.

The United States is moving forward with a program of defense against missiles that might be launched by rogue regimes such as Iran, but it is not yet clear where some of the leading European states stand on such efforts.

We have a peace process in the Middle East that can either move in a constructive way or end up supporting terrorist elements --- and the US and the EU need to work in coordination with each other to support those committed to peaceful coexistence, security, and freedom.
 
These are but a few of the myriad of issues that comprise the ever evolving trans-Atlantic relationship.

I look forward to hearing from our esteemed witness on these and other issues that comprise the ever-evolving relationship with our friends across the Atlantic.