U.S.-EU Cooperation on Energy Security: President Joseph Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
President Joseph Biden: “No, not in the last couple hours.”
QUESTION: “Have you decided how soon you would be moving US troops to Eastern Europe?”
President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.: “I’ll be moving US troops to Eastern Europe in (or he possibly says “and”) the NATO countries in the near term. Not a lot.”
The EU and the United States cooperate closely on energy policy, decarbonization and security of supply in the U.S.-EU Energy Council. The EU’s and the United States’ commitments to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, through clean energy, in particular renewables, energy efficiency, and technologies, provide a path to energy security and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. The current challenges to European security underscore our commitment to accelerating and carefully managing the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Over the last decade, the EU has invested in diversification of supply through infrastructure and reinforcement of its internal energy networks, increasing the resilience and flexibility of EU energy markets. The European Commission will intensify work with Member States for security of supply, within transparent and competitive gas markets in a manner compatible with long-term climate goals and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
While that process intensifies during this critical decade, we are committed to working closely together to overcome today’s challenges of security of supply and high prices in energy markets.
We commit to intensifying our strategic energy cooperation for security of supply and will work together to make available reliable, and affordable energy supplies to citizens and businesses in the EU and its neighborhood.
The United States and the EU are working jointly towards continued, sufficient, and timely supply of natural gas to the EU from diverse sources across the globe to avoid supply shocks, including those that could result from a further Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United States is already the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the EU. We are collaborating with governments and market operators on supply of additional volumes of natural gas to Europe from diverse sources across the globe. LNG in the short-term can enhance security of supply while we continue to enable the transition to net zero emissions. The European Commission will work for improved transparency and utilization of LNG terminals in the EU.
We intend to work together, in close collaboration with EU Member States, on LNG supplies for security of supply and contingency planning. We will also exchange views on the role of storage in security of supply.
More broadly, we call on all major energy producer countries to join us in ensuring world energy markets are stable and well-supplied. This work has already started, and we will take it forward at the meeting of the U.S.-EU Energy Council on February 7."
PRESIDENT JOSEPH ROBINETTE BIDEN, JR. ~ FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022
Then at 11:10 AM, President Biden will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. President Biden departs from the White House South Lawn en route to Joint Base Andrews. President Biden departs from Joint Base Andrews en route West Mifflin, Pennsylvania at 11:30 AM. At 12:20 PM President Biden will arrive at Allegheny County Airport.
In the afternoon at 1:25 PM, President Biden will visit Carnegie Mellon University at Mill 19. At 2:00 PM President Biden will present remarks on strengthening the nation’s supply chains, revitalizing American manufacturing, creating good-paying, union jobs, and building a better America, including through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In the evening at 3:05 PM, President Biden will return to the White House in Washington, DC from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. President Biden will depart from Allegheny County Airport en route to Joint Base Andrews at 4:00 PM. President Biden will travel from Joint Base Andrews and arrive on The WHite House South Lawn at 4:20 PM.
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA DEVI HARRIS ~ THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022
At 11:00 AM CST, Vice President Harris will attend the Inauguration Ceremony for President-elect Xiomara Castro of the Republic of Honduras. The Inauguration Ceremony will be convened at the National Stadium of Tegucigalpa in Honduras.
At 2:05 PM CST, Vice President Harris will convene a bilateral meeting with President Xiomara Castro of the Republic of Honduras at the Presidential Palace.
At 5:20 PM CST, Vice President will depart Palmerola, Honduras en route Washington, DC. Vice President Harris will depart from Soto Cano Air Base and arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland en route Washington, DC.
Vice President Harris landed at 10:13 PM at Joint Base Andrews after trip to Honduras. Flight was uneventful.
Vice President Harris deplaned at 10:18 PM and board Marine 2, which took off in route to Washington, DC at 10:23 PM.
BRIEFING SCHEDULE ~ FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022
The conversation that I had today then with the now president was rooted in those issues. It was about our intention to prioritize the importance of her agenda, as it relates to the combating of corruption.
I talked extensively about why that is important. There are obvious reasons, but the reasons include a connection to the second point, which is the need for them to have economic security and to do well economically, so that their people don't want to leave.
And the connection is pretty obvious. When we talk about our attention to dealing with the economic support we can give countries in Central America, a lot of it includes partnerships with CEOs and with our private sector in the United States -- with American corporations. Well, they want to know they can do business in a country where there will be adherence to the rule of law, where there will be consistency in terms of a judiciary, where there will be consistency in terms of regulations.
So, these issues are interconnected. And speaking of interconnection and interdependence, not only is there an interconnection and independence -- interdependence between the United States and Honduras on these issues as it relates to the effect which is irregular migration, but also we talked about the public health issues that are confronting all of us. We talked about COVID-19 and the work we have already done as an administration to assist Honduras and the work we will continue to do.
The President has a particular interest in addressing the pediatric needs of her population, and so we discussed some of the detail in that regard.
It was a good discussion. It was in depth. There were many due outs. And we look forward to a partnership, and we feel very optimistic about the future potential of this relationship.
QUESTION: Madam Vice President Harris, when you compare the three Northern Triangle countries, are there different things that each of them needs? Because you've gone to Guatemala -- you've been there. You've been to Honduras for the first time. What are the differences that three different countries need?
VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: One aspect of this that I fully appreciate is that they do not want to be considered -- nor are they are they -- a monolith. So each country has its own identity, its own culture, its own history, and that should be respected. Which is why you will see that I rarely, if ever, refer to it as the "Northern Triangle," because that then treats it as a monolith when it is not.
So -- but there are commonalities to be sure, but of different proportions, on the issue of what they need in terms of economic systems, for example. There are commonalities that are true for the entire Western Hemisphere in terms of the impact of the climate crisis, and that -- what that means in terms of our ability for farming, for an agricultural economy. There are commonalities in terms of the concern that we have about corruption. Certainly, commonalities about irregular migration, including the use of human smuggling and human trafficking.
But there are varying degrees in each. And for that reason, our level of attention to each issue is different and is moderated based on the needs of that particular country.
QUESTION: Madam Vice President, one thing we didn’t see in the -- in the readout today: We did not see anything about China. I‘m wondering if, either in your conversations today or your conversations in December, this is -- China, Taiwan and that relationship -- is something that came up, and how you addressed it?
VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Well, we did not discuss China. But, certainly, you probably know the Vice President of Taiwan was there. He came up and introduced himself to me. And the brief conversation that we had was really about a common interest in this part of the region and, apparently, Taiwan’s interest in our Root Causes Strategy.
QUESTION: Can you reflect on the retirement of Justice Breyer and what role you're going to play in advising the President as he makes his decision?
VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Well, as a -- my entire life as a practicing attorney, I will tell you, I have a great deal of respect for Justice Breyer and his legacy and his commitment, and particularly to those words etched in the United States Supreme Court outside wall, “Equal Justice Under Law.” He has truly been a champion of equal justice under law.
And as it relates to his retirement, I wish him well, of course, and thank him for his legacy.
But the President and I will work closely together on this and the selection process. And I’ll (inaudible) the President will make his choice about who will be the next person to fill Justice Breyer’s seat.
QUESTION: He said in particular, you're going to help advise him on that.
VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Yes.
QUESTION: Vice President Harris, you were nodding your head during the speech of Castro talking about corruption. Can you just talk about -- a little bit about what you were feeling when she was talking about that passionately?
And also, a lot of the American people are concerned that things won't move fast enough. How soon do you think this relationship could materialize into some positive impact?
VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Great question. So, I was impressed with the passion with which she took about -- talked about her priority on addressing and combating corruption in this country. And that fuels my optimism about our ability to partner on that issue because, again, it is a priority issue for us in terms of our Root Causes Strategy and any investment in this country going forward.
I think that on the issue of what this will mean in terms of the timeline, the Root Causes Strategy has always been clear, and we have been clear: The work we need to do is going to be work that will manifest over a long period of time -- hopefully not too long, but certainly not overnight.
The problems that we need to address are problems that did not occur overnight. And the solutions, if they’re going to have any impact, will not occur overnight.
Thank you.
And it was necessary for the Honduran people to create peace and tranquility in our elections process on November 28th, to create a refoundation -- because this returned peace, given the fears that were created.
And today, we see the results of that. And those results are there: 1.7 million people supported my candidacy. We did not need to go to a second round of elections because we obtained 51 percent support of the Honduran people. So, I would like to thank the Biden government -- Biden administration. I’d like to thank you. And I’d like to thank your Secretary for being here as well.
So, will the media be here?"
U.S. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA DEVI HARRIS: "Well, if you don’t mind, Madam President, I’d like to publicly congratulate you on your election. We were watching the election process closely. And on behalf of President Biden and myself, we wish you great success. We appreciate that your election was a democratic election -- that the people spoke.
I was there today to witness the ceremony of your inauguration. And it is clear that you have the support of many, many of the people of this important and beautiful country.
Our perspective as the United States, in terms of our relationship with Honduras, is one that we believe our nations, as are most nations these days, interconnected and interdependent.
We also, as the United States, recognize that we are a member, a neighbor in the Western Hemisphere. And as neighbors, we have a relationship that is important and can impact one another.
In particular, today and going forward in our working relationship, as you and I have discussed in our telephone conversations, I look forward to many areas of partnership, including the work that we can do to address the economic prosperity of Honduras.
As I shared with you, I have been convening American CEOs and corporations who have pledged to support this region. And right now, the pledge has reached $1.2 billion.
There is a lot of opportunity there -- you spoke about this in your inaugural address -- in terms of the importance of uplifting the economy and what that means to families, what that means in terms of the creation of jobs, and what that means on the issue of migration.
I particularly appreciated your point, which you and I have discussed before, which is: Most people don’t want to leave home; they don’t want to leave places where they worship -- their church; their grandmother. And if they leave, it is usually because they are either fleeing harm or they simply cannot satisfy their basic needs or their family’s needs if they stay.
Therefore, the area of cooperation and work that we will do together on economic prosperity will be pivotal to that issue, in particular for irregular migration.
We have also discussed and you discussed at length in your inaugural speech the importance of combatting corruption.
I take a particular interest in that, as does the President. And we share, again, with your administration and your campaign pledge, a priority around doing what we can do as partners to address that issue, which is an issue not only in terms of the standing of a country, but also it is related to the issue of economic prosperity.
And I will say also that, on the issue of -- you touched briefly on the issue of children and education. And one of the issues here in Honduras has been the COVID-19 impact on that.
And so far, the United States has donated 3.9 million vaccines. Based on our last conversation, I'm also proud to report today that several hundred thousand more doses will be coming here in the next couple of months.
In addition, I'm pleased to announce to you today that we will send, in the next couple of weeks, half a million pediatric syringes to help with the administration of vaccines to children. And we are pledging $1.35 million to help you upgrade the health and educational facilities of this country, all with the intention of uplifting and supporting your public health and educational priorities.
So, in closing, I will say that we are honored to be here. It was a pleasure to witness your inauguration. And we look forward to this partnership, as a working partnership, as neighbors in this hemisphere. Thank you."
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