The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“UNITED STATES-SPAIN COUNCIL” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S12286-S12288 on Nov. 9, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
UNITED STATES-SPAIN COUNCIL
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, the relationship between the United States and Spain is the oldest one in North America. Almost 500 years ago--in 1513--Spanish Explorer Ponce de Leon and his crew in search of a Fountain of Youth discovered North America. What they found was a treasure of a different kind--a land that Ponce de Leon named ``La Florida.''
In the four centuries since then, the histories of the United States and Spain have been inextricably linked. While there have been periods of estrangement and even hostility, the United States and Spain are
``natural allies.'' As we approach the end of this century, the cultural, political, and economic ties between the United States and Spain have never been stronger, nor more mutually beneficial.
This reinvigorated relationship is especially visible in the active relations, frequently in close collaboration, of Spain and the United States in Latin America.
To build on this exceptional period of positive relationship, the United States--Spain Council was formed in May 1996 by Vice President Al Gore and the President of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar. The Council was formerly established at an organizational meeting held in Toledo, Spain in November 1996. The Council established itself as a forum in which Spanish and American citizens, including leaders in government business, education, and culture could discuss the state of the United States--Spain relationship.
In April of 1997 the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fundacion Consejo Espana-Estados Unidos, Mr. Jaime Carvajal and the then Chairman of the United States--Spain Council, Bill Richardson, signed an agreement of the common goals regarding their intent to: promote cooperation between Spain and the United States in the economic, trade, business, scientific and cultural fields; improve knowledge about each other's country and the image of the United States in Spain and of Spain in the United States; propose to their respective governments actions aimed at developing relations between the two countries and adopt other initiatives which would contribute to the progress and growth of relations between the United States and Spanish societies.
This past October 31 through November 2, 1997 the Council met here in Washington for two and one half days and in New York for an additional day on November 3, 1997. The meeting was attended by many prominent members of the Council from both nations, which led to a candid and thought provoking discussion of the topics on our agenda.
These topics included United States--Spain Trade and Investment Analysis of Direct Investment Practices, Spanish and United States images: Origins and Reasons, Strengthening United States--Spanish Ties, the Role of Civil Society (Educational and Cultural exchanges), Intellectual Property and Internet in Spanish.
The members of the Council agreed to undertake a challenging agenda short and long objectives, all intended to advance United States and Spanish relations.
I would like to thank Vice President Al Gore, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister of the Economy and Finance, Mr. Rodrigo Rato, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abel Matutes, and Stuart E. Eizenstat, US Under Secretary for Economic Business and Agricultural Affairs, and other distinguished presenters, for their meaningful participation in our meeting.
I also take this opportunity to thank the two Executive Directors of our Council, Ambassador Diego Asencio and his Spanish counter part, Emilio Cassinello Auban. Ambassador Asencio and his Assistant, Elia Garcia-McComie did an outstanding job of bringing together all the ingredients essential to a productive meeting.
It is important that my colleagues in the Senate and the people of the United States understand this special relationship, which is old in historical terms and yet new because it is being reinvigorated by this renewed attention to its importance. We must recognize that the United States with its growing Spanish speaking population, is a logical bridge between Latin America and Spain. We must take advantage of this moment in history to strengthen cultural and educational ties as well as promoting investment opportunities for both countries.
I ask unanimous consent that excerpts of speeches at the meeting by Vice President Gore, Mr. Rato, Mr. Eizenstat, and the entire text of Mr. Matutes' address be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Excerpts of Remarks of Vice President Al Gore
Thank you so much.
You know, Bob Graham is truly a national treasure. He has done so much to nurture the friendship between Spain and the United States, and has been such a leader in building a thriving new era in the affairs of our hemisphere. I am honored to be here with him today.
When President Aznar and I met last year, we looked forward to the day when a vanguard of key leaders from business and academics, politics and culture would meet to discuss issues of common concern.
What we do here today is an important new step in the evolving relationship between our peoples and our nations--a relationship that dates back hundreds of years of rich history.
Our historic ties, strong alliance and shared ideals underpin an ambitious cooperative effort in support of peace, democracy and prosperity in important areas such as the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Each of you here this morning represents a specific aspect of the American-Spanish relationship--whether in diplomacy and government, business, culture, education, the media or in any of a host of other endeavors.
The variety of this group mirrors the complexity of our exchanges and drives home the point that it is in our daily business, public or private lives, that our nations' bonds are created and affirmed. Some many of the important national issues we address have international ramifications. Doing our jobs well means doing them well together.
All this, ladies and gentlemen, can be summed up in one sentence: U.S.-Spanish relations are excellent now, and poised to become even more productive in the coming years.
I applaud your work; and I salute your commitment to a new era, and a new century of friendship between Spain and the United States.
Buena Suerte, and Good Luck!
Excerpts of a Speech by the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy and Finance, Rodrigo Rato
``The spanish economy on the threshold of the euro''
It is a great honor for me to have the chance to close this Third Spain-United States forum. Previous sessions have demonstrated the great utility of these platforms, involving a wide range of personalities from all fields, in enhancing dialog between the two countries and promoting greater tapproachment and mutual understanding.
In a globalized work such as today's, marked by freedom of exchange and the mobility of factors, ti is clear that there can be no isolated response to the problems affecting our economies. The global interrelation which surrounds us assesses the need for coordinating mechanisms which are sufficient to meet the demands of the international economy effectively and with assured success.
EMU implies for Spain an economic policy which would have to be pursued in any case (even if there were no EMU), given the challenge of globalization and competition with North America and in the Asian Pacific region. EMU represents macro-economic stability, a necessary pre-requisite in the creation of jobs.
EMU is a strategic challenge. The point of no return for the creation of EMU and for Spain's participation has been reached. For Spain, there is no strategic alternative to our full participation from the outset. EMU will not however be a panacea that will resolve all our problems with no effort on our part. Moderation of production costs, restraints of public spending and tax policies to format saving and investment are key elements to the creation of jobs.
Trade unions and employers have recently given ample evidence of their sense of responsibility in dealing with the historical challenge posed for Spain by EMU. Spanish society and the Government are certain that they will be up to the task and that social consensus will be maintained. The Government considers this social consensus to be fundamental to its economic policy strategy for stability and job creation.
As revealed by the figures and the results of the last year, the Spanish economy has shown considerable maturity, adapting and reacting positively to the changes made to its system. Spain is, at this time, an adaptable economy, increasingly flexible, and with a dynamism which I do not doubt will increase as we pursue the structural reforms under way.
Excerpts of Remarks for Under Secretary Eizenstat at U.S.-Spain Council
Lunch
u.s.-spanish trade relations
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the State Department today. I am honored to host this event which marks the first meeting in the United States of the U.S.-Spain Council. I want especially to congratulate all those who have helped make this meeting possible. I believe this group has a vital role to play in the New Transatlantic Agenda and in building and strengthening essential contacts between our two countries.
The overall relationship between Spain and the United States can best be characterized as one of increased mutual trust and cooperation, especially during the past decade. We value Spain's commitment to strengthened transatlantic ties and desire to strengthen points of contact in many areas--political, military and economic. Spain has courageously taken a leadership role on many of the most challenging and demanding issues before Europe today--peacekeeping in Bosnia and the Middle East, development of a Mediterranean initiative, the expansion of NATO, and improved transatlantic trade. It was Spain that was most outspoken in its opposition to the undemocratic Castro regime in Cuba. Spain's leadership and initiative made it possible to create consensus among governments, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations on ways to promote democracy and freedom in Cuba.
The relationship between Spain and the United States remains a partnership between equals who agree on the basic principles that will help achieve the goal of a New Transatlantic Marketplace. This is demonstrated here today by the number of important U.S. and Spanish business and government representatives committed to continuing an honest and open dialogue on these issues.
Once again, let me welcome you to the State Department and encourage your successful collaboration.
address by the minister of foreign affairs mr. abel matutes
Mr. Secretary of State for Energy, Mr. Under Secretary of State for Economic Business and Agricultural Affairs, Mr. Ambassador, Chairmen of the United States-Spain Council, Ladies and Gentlemen: Today I visit Washington once again, on the occasion of the III Forum, organized by the U.S.-Spain Council, an initiative that rests on society, sponsored from the outset by the President of the Spanish Government and Vicepresident Gore, as a dynamic contribution to the cooperation between our countries. We must congratulate ourselves for the continuity this open and informal dialogue has attained, a dialogue which brings together businessmen, legislators, scholars, professionals and politicians from Spain and the U.S.
The III meeting of the Forum--the first to be held in the United States--has been preceded by two previous ones: Seville in 1995 and last year in Toledo. It is with utmost satisfaction that we Spaniards now review certain predictions made in Seville and Toledo. At the close of 1995, cautious predictions envisaged the possibility of Spain being in the first group of countries to enter the E.M.U. and inaugurate the movement towards the euro. As a conclusion to the debate on the Spanish economy, Seville's records state that: ``the Spanish economy will continue to grow relatively strongly for the next couple of years, the underlying concern being whether or not Spain will meet the Maastricht convergence criteria''. One year later, in November 1996, the Toledo report literally stated that ``the markets judge that Spain has a 70% chance of joining the E.M.U. on schedule''. Today, scarcely twelve months after these predictions, neither the economists, nor the politicians nor the markets leave any room for doubt. Spain will be on time for this crucial economic and political rendezvous, and will belong to the group of countries that will lead the E.U. into the coming millennium.
It is obvious that, as members of the E.U., political and economic convergence within the process of construction of Europe is for us of paramount importance. This does not exhaust, however, our foreign policy options. Spain can today envisage being present simultaneously in all those international scenarios, where necessary to defend its national interests. This allows me to affirm, without reservations, that the Spanish foreign policy has multiple essential goals that are perfectly compatible. In this sense, Europe does not preempt Latinamerica and even less so our concerns for the Mediterranean; convergence with the E.U. is not unreconcilable with the transatlantic common goals, bilaterally with the United States and multilaterally, within the E.U. and N.A.T.O.
In the economic field, the fact is that the intensification of our relationship with member countries of the European Union has reduced the relative weight of trade and investment between the United States and Spain. Notwithstanding, the global value of our exchanges reflects a first-class relationship with the United States. Our trade flows top the 10 billion dollar mark. The United States is our most important trade partner outside the E.U. It is clear that the balance is tilted in favor of the United States--6.5 billion dollars against 3.6 billion dollars in 1996--, compelling us to redouble the efforts to reach a more balanced export-import ratio, surmounting tariff barriers and the socalled
``equivalent effect measures''. The image factor, --or the lack thereof, rather than its shortcomings--, plays a relevant role in the Spanish exports to the United States, a fact which has drawn the Council's justified attention. The analysis of the origins and solutions to the absence of a Spanish image in the United States may well be a substantial contribution of this Washington Forum.
In turn, Spanish investment in the U.S. market is growing. With an annual volume ranging between 300 and 400 million dollars, it accounts for 5% of Spanish investments abroad. We must not forget either the decisive role played by U.S. investments in the Spanish development in terims of contributing technology innovation, occupational training and job creation in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Currently U.S. financial investments in the Spanish stock exchange are of considerable importance. Statistics show that more than 500 U.S. corporations are present today in the Spanish economy, the eighth in the world in terms of industrial output, with a G.D.P. that exceeds five hundred billion dollars, which makes Spain the top medium in-come country.
Many of these, import, export and investment companies are represented in the U.S.-Spain Council, and their Chairmans and CEOs are here today to participate in this III Forum. The Program for discussion of this Forum has scheduled an interesting session on ``joint ventures''. Their primary field of action is obviously in this hemisphere. The possibilities of success of these Spanish-American joint ventures, particularly in basic areas such as infrastructure, services and finance are increased by the affinity of the Spanish culture, by the fact that Spain is the first European investor in Latin America, and by the existence of a sophisticated and complex network of cooperation agreements between Spain and Latin American countries. The Latin American experience can be obviously useful in other regions and markets, be they European, mediterranean or Asian.
In short, the potential of economic interests requires both Governments to promote and encourage the transatlantic business dialogue and to increase our exchanges. The creation of the United States-Spain Council is a step in this direction. Our dual convergence with the United States, both bilaterally and as a member of the E.U., must be regarded in the framework of the New Transatlantic Agenda that President Clinton signed in Madrid and that Undersecretary of State Eizenstat referred to as ``the roadmap of our relationship into the XXI Century'', not only in the economic field, but also in the field of foreign policy and security understood in its widest sense. In this context, the Spanish Government has given proof of its willingness--which I reiterate today--of pioneering in Europe the ``habit of consultation'' in Europe, in my view the cornerstone of this New Transatlantic Agenda.
In the cultural field, our relations continue to advance, but the volume of the Spanish presence in the United States is still insufficient. Notwithstanding, our cultural heritage is among the most important in the world; the artistic creativity of the Spanish people has produced and continues to produce exceptional works; and our language is a work of art of the ancestral living and daily communication we share with 400 million people. Of these, nearly 30 million live within the borders of the United States, making this country the fifth-ranking Spanish-speaking country in the world.
Where do we then stand with regard to our cultural relations?
The answer is not as satisfactory as it could and should be, even though new means and mechanisms have been created to open significant perspectives for the increase of our cultural exchanges. We witness growing levels of cooperation in the field of education: within twelve to eighteen months there will be 2000 Spanish teachers in American high schools, two Cervantes Institutes, in addition to New York and Chicago, a greater number of privately funded scholarship programs, including post-graduate students such as Spain-U.S.A. 2000. The expectations are ambitious and we should continuously stimulate them, especially in a country where 65% of all students choose Spanish as a second language, including the daughters of both President Clinton and Vice-President Gore. New technologies and media, the promotion by audio-visual means of Spanish cultural expressions, the introduction of the Spanish language in the Internet--another subject included in the program of discussion of the III Forum--, in sum, the whole arsenal of modern communication should be used in a tightly coordinated strategy, to achieve a widespread presence of Spain in the United States, including, naturally, tourism and the healthy Mediterranean diet.
Taking all this into account, I believe that the engagement of society in this task is absolutely essential. This is why I am so pleased by the fact that the United States-Spain Council has, among its specific goals, that of promoting our relations with the Hispanic community in the U.S. I am particularly encouraged by the fact that this will be one of the issues to be discussed in this III Forum, both in the context of education and promotion of people to people links as well as from the perspective of image and mutual understanding. In fact, the U.S.-Spain Council which owes much of its existence to the talent and the perseverance of Ambassador Bill Richardson is, in itself, a good example of the special predisposition that Spaniards and Hispanics share to understand each other.
Finally, I would like to make reference to the third convergence that makes our relationship unique: the security and defense issues, the military component of the Spanish-American ties. Historically, Spain has evolved from contributing to the struggle for American independence 200 years ago, to its accession to the Washington Treaty in 1982 and common membership in N.A.T.O. It can even be said that, since 1975, the major change in our growing exchanges with the American Government and society has been a progressive reduction of the military issue in the relationship as a whole. We are no longer primarily a military ally, as we have become above all a partner in the International Community, engaging in excellent and extensive political, economic and cultural relations, that do not, however, exclude the security and defense link.
The N.A.T.O. Summit held in Madrid last July, was a crucial moment in the design of a new post-Cold War N.A.T.O., both in its internal renovation and its external adaptation. Spain and the United States share a common view in practically all issues: the new design of the command structure; the development of the European Identity in Security and Defense, involving the effective participation of the W.E.U.; the full support to the new Council of Euro-Atlantic Association; the enlargement understood as a historical challenge that demands an undeferable response and as a evolving process that began with three countries but has been left open to the future; the full support to the new Council of the Euro-Atlantic Association; the N.A.T.O. Russia cooperation, and the special relationship with the Ukraine; the strengthening of the Mediterranean dialogue, and the creation of a Group for Cooperation in the Mediterranean.
Consequently, we have arrived at a juncture in which we feel that the transformation of the current model of our presence in the renewed Alliance, and our entrance in the new command structure is deemed advisable. We believe that the necessary adjustments are practically concluded, in a conceptual design that is acceptable both to Spain and to the Other N.A.T.O. partners. We trust that this decision will be formalised next December, without undue interference from any extraneous bilateral dissension, foreign to the Alliance, which ought to be solved in other fora.
Ladies and Gentleman;
Our world is irrevocably and unquestionably different. Globalization--of markets, of finance, of technology, of challenges--is not an option but a reality. International relations are predominantly multilateral; the expansion of democracy can be demonstrated; the proliferation of new conflicts within states, rather than between states, is a proven fact and an unfortunate truth,; and the revolution in communications and information technology is the result of the most significant and drastic technological changes since the Industrial Revolution.
And within such complex and changing framework, that is so contradictory in its inequalities and its fortunes, it seems appropriate that as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain I encourage the United States to continue to be the most visible international spokesman in favour of stability, sustainable development, peace and security. This is not a responsibility that must be carried out alone. Europe must participate since we share a common world, since the United States is a European country and Europe is an Atlantic Continent. This is Spain's understanding which has been postulated numerous times over the last years. The United States can rest assured that in the conflict-stricken scenarios of the world and in the daily life of the international community, it will always find a Spaniard striving towards peaceful co-existence, democracy and the rule of law.
This does not imply that no differences exist between the policies of both and countries, or that we will not encounter situations in which, while agreeing on the goals, we dissent on the means. In such a complex and vital relationship, perpetual consensus or systematic unanimity are unattainable. It is in exploring doubts and in the search for alternatives, that the intelligence of thought is expressed. On occasion's, this is the only manner in which partner of good faith can effectively help one another, in a relationship as plural and conditioned by the World's diversity as ours.
I would like to end by congratulating, once again, the U.S.-Spain Council for having maintained this initiative and the continuity of its meeting. The ambitious originality and imagination of its members allows us to harbour great expectations about their practical proposals which we shall listen to with great attention.
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