President Bush met with European Union leaders June 20 in Washington and said the United States will continue to support a strong EU “as a partner in spreading freedom and democracy and security and prosperity throughout the world.” During a joint press conference with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the Council of the EU, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, Bush said, “My message to these leaders and these friends is that we want a Europe strong so that we can work together to achieve important objectives and important goals.”

The president also cited U.S.-EU cooperation in support of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as cooperation in Iraq, Darfur, Afghanistan, and the broader Middle East. The president said he and the EU leaders also talked about “the need for us to continually support democratic movements. We talked about the Ukraine and Georgia, as well as the Balkans.” They also discussed terrorism, visas, China, Iran, and U.S.-EU trade, the president said.