"It is now 16 years since my last visit to Washington.
In 1991, most of the countries of Central and Eastern
Europe were just emerging from behind the Iron
Curtain. Their people were rejoicing in the
opportunities presented by their new-found freedom.
"At the time, your father, President Bush, saw the
potential for what he called, a Europe whole and free.
"It is never easy to give royal form to such hopes and
aspirations. But here, in 2007, those aspirations
have, for the most part, been fulfilled. NATO and the
European Union opened their doors to friends across
the continent, and both institutions have grown to
encompass the great majority of countries in Europe.
"Tonight, I would like to recognize that steadfast
commitment your country has shown, not just in the
last 16 years, but throughout my life, in support of a
Europe whole and free.
"I grew up in the knowledge that the very survival of
Britain was bound up in that vital wartime alliance
forged by Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt.
"On my first visit to Washington in 1951, your
predecessor, President Truman, welcomed me to the
White House, and it was his administration which
reached out to Europe through the Marshall Plan to
help our tired and battered continent lift itself from
the ruins of a second world war.
"In the years that followed, successive
administrations here in Washington committed
themselves to the defense of Europe, as we learned to
live with the awesome responsibilities of the nuclear
age.
"Mr. President, for someone of my age, surveying the
many challenges we face in this new 21st century, that
is the inescapable historical context within which we
live. My generation can vividly remember the ordeal of
the Second World War. We experienced the difficulties
of those early postwar years. We lived through the
uncertainties of the long Cold War period.
"For those of us who have witnessed the peace and
stability and prosperity enjoyed in the United Kingdom
and the rest of Europe over these postwar years, we
have every reason to remember that this has been
founded on the bedrock of the Atlantic Alliance.
"All the many and varied elements of our present
relationship, be they in the fields of education,
business, culture, sports, politics or the law, have
continued to flourish, safe in the knowledge of this
simple truth.
"Today the United States and the United Kingdom, with
our partners in Europe and the Commonwealth, face
different threats and new problems both at home and
abroad. In recent years, sadly, both our nations have
suffered grievously at the hands of international
terrorism.
"Further afield, whether in Iraq or Afghanistan,
climate change, or the eradication of poverty, the
international community is grappling with problems
certainly no less complex than those faced by our 20th
century forebears.
"I have no doubt, however, that together with our
friends in Europe and beyond, we can continue to learn
from the inspiration and vision of those earlier
statesmen in ensuring that we meet these threats and
resolve these problems.
"Divided, all alone, we can be vulnerable. But if the
Atlantic unites, not divides us, ours is a partnership
always to be reckoned with in the defense of freedom
and the spread of prosperity.
"That is the lesson of my lifetime. Administrations in
your country, and governments in mine, may come and
go. But talk we will; listen we have to; disagree from
time to time we may; but united we must always remain.
"Mr. President, I raise my glass to you and to Mrs.
Bush, to the friendship between our two countries, and
to the health, freedom, prosperity, and happiness of
the people of the United States of America."