Ambassador Bruton:

I assume the omission from Who's Who in Ireland was a marketing ploy in order that people would talk about such an egregious omission and thereby talk about the publication in question. I am sure every time that is mentioned it boosts sales.

Ambassador Bruton:

It is the case that Americans see the European Union and NATO as twins, not identical twins but twins with similar purposes. The United States is a member of NATO, it is not a member of the European Union, but it regards NATO as the European element for defence. It tends to worry if the European Union decides that it wants to develop its own military capacity under EU aegis independent of NATO.

Ambassador Bruton:

The American insight is that one cannot distinguish and separate power from military power. Military power is part of the reason for the strength of the dollar. There is a certain honesty about the American approach to these matters, which perhaps we Europeans tend to shy away from, with some believing that we never needed the military umbrella that the Americans provided, thereby simply ignoring it because there is no language for describing it. This is an issue which not only Europeans in Ireland but Europeans elsewhere need to consider. There is a salience to military security. It is not as important as it was 15 years ago because the new threats are not conventional but it is important nonetheless.

Ambassador Bruton:

As far as ambassadors, special relationships and so forth are concerned, one of the things I was partially led to believe I would find when I went to the United States two years ago was that there would be a type of rivalry between member state ambassadors similar to the type of rivalry that may exist between Departments here. I have not once found a trace of it in all of that period. I suppose it is partly because the United States is so big and that there is so much work for all of us to do that we do not tend to cross one another's paths.

Ambassador Bruton:

Whenever an issue needs a common approach from the member states and the Commission, there is a ready willingness on the part of the member states, large and small, whether it be Ireland's ambassador, Mr. Noel Fahey, Sir David Manning representing the United Kingdom or Mr. Jean-David Levitte representing France, to put on the European Union jersey, so to speak. In the United States, the British Presidency of the European Union was exceptionally good. Its ability to work with the Commission was second to none in terms of promoting Europe in the United States.