EU/US: There has been a huge improvement in relations between the EU and the US over the past year, John Bruton, the EU ambassador to Washington, said yesterday.
Marking his first year in office, former taoiseach Mr Bruton said President George Bush had gone out of his way not only to visit the EU Commission in Brussels but also to be supportive of the EU following the referendum defeats in France and the Netherlands.
"He could have stood back but he didn't. He was very supportive," said Mr Bruton.
He said the EU and US were working together on issues like Iran, the Middle East peace process and, hopefully, on a successful world trade agreement.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, he said he was surprised not only at the extent to which Americans were interested in the EU but also at how much they knew.
"Also, they understand because the US is a federal country. They understand that you can have different levels of government co-existing with one another."
Asked if the relationship had changed with Iraq, Mr Bruton said the reality was that public opinion in Europe remained negative about what the US had done.
"On the other hand, politicians - including in countries that were opposed to the original intervention - now are supporting the transition - given where we are on Iraq - towards democracy and the rule of law.
"The costs of running the Iraq election referendum recently were borne by the European Commission, European tax-payers' money, not American," he said.
It was put to him that while Bill Clinton had a genuine interest in Ireland, the same could not be said of President Bush.
"I've found that President Bush is interested in Ireland and in the promotion of a durable settlement of the remaining difficulties in Northern Ireland," he replied.
On the hurricanes that hit the US so badly, Mr Bruton said there was initial hesitation on behalf of the US on whether they should accept overseas aid, but they realised that some European countries such as The Netherlands had great expertise.