mr president the election of president obama was met with enthusiasm in both the usa and in europe but a great deal is expected of the forty-fourth president of the usa
he faces a range of challenges which no peacetime leader of that nation in living memory has been expected to tackle
he has a financial and economic crisis at home bordering on a meltdown of financial markets that has impacted the world economy and is a still a long way from being resolved
he has committed himself to finding a solution for war-torn afghanistan and for the spill-over effect it is having into pakistan
he faces the danger of an iran which is coming ever closer to being a nuclear power
we believe in a strong transatlantic relationship based on our common values of democracy and the free market economy
we respect the priorities that president obama and his new administration have set themselves
we are not offended if the us sees that some of these aims will only be achieved with the cooperation of the us and russia
europe is extending an open hand to the united states
just a few weeks ago in this chamber we declared our openness to work together to close guantánamo bay and resettle former inmates
member states from the former eastern bloc have a particular debt of gratitude to the united states
we were brought into the transatlantic community several years before becoming members of the eu
poland for its part has reflected this gratitude by a willingness to support the us whenever needed including military engagement in iraq and afghanistan
i appeal to the new administration not to take this support entirely for granted
a younger generation of poles raised in a democracy has quickly forgotten this debt of gratitude
in realising its wider aims the us should not forget that these loyal allies have sensitivities especially when it presses the us-russia reset button
