a266  0159  19 Nov 89
AM-EC-Summit,0698
European Leaders Gather for Talks on Eastern Europe
By SALLY JACOBSEN
Associated Press Writer
    PARIS (AP) - Western European leaders said Saturday they would ''do
every single thing'' to promote the surge for democracy in Eastern
Europe and promised more aid to help Poland and Hungary get through
the winter.
    Leaders of the 12-nation European Community met for three hours in a
special session called by French President Francois Mitterrand to
discuss the upheavals throughout Eastern Europe.
    ''We wish to do everything we can to encourage reforms and the
process of democracy throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern
Europe,'' said British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. ''We're very
pleased these events have happened.''
    The dinner-meeting came two weeks before President Bush and Soviet
leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev are to hold a shipboard summit off the
coast of Malta.
    Mitterrand had called the Paris summit last week in a move to have
the Western Europeans establish their approach to the developments in
Eastern Europe before the Bush-Gorbachev talks. But Mitterrand said
he didn't intend to send a formal message to either superpower
leader, although he would talk to Bush by phone before the Malta
conference.
    Mrs. Thatcher will meet with Bush Friday at Camp David, and German
Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher is scheduled to visit
Washington this week. Mitterrand said he expected to meet with Bush
next month but he didn't say when.
    Mitterrand told a news conference after the summit in the Elysee
Palace, ''We declare ourselves ready to cooperate in anything that
will help the reform of the Eastern countries.''
    West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said there was a ''consensus of
joy and contentment but also a little anxiety and reserve'' regarding
East Germany.
    With the opening of borders between East and West Germany there has
been speculation the two countries might reunite. That has caused
some concern that West Germany, with the most powerful economy in the
European Community (EC) trading bloc, might turn toward Eastern
Europe.
    But Kohl said, ''There is no alternative'' to membership in the EC,
also known as the European Common Market.
    Mrs. Thatcher, without referring directly to Germany, said, ''The
question of borders is not on the agenda. They should stay as they
are.''
    She also said security matters should continue to be conducted
through the two military alliances - the West's North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.
    ''At a time of great change, it's necessary to keep the background
of stability and security,'' she told the news conference.
    The leaders emphasized their commitment to support the democratic
reforms in Eastern Europe.
    ''We must do every single thing we can to encourage it,'' said Mrs.
Thatcher.
    ''We are ready to contribute by all our means to the installation of
a healthy economy, which is the sine qua non (essential condition) of
the return to democracy,'' Mitterrand said.
    Mitterrrand, Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey and Prime Minister
Felipe Gonzalez of Spain were named to study a proposal for a
European development bank to help modernize the backward economies of
Eastern Europe. They also were asked to look into setting up a
European foundation to train managers from Eastern Europe and to open
up EC community education and training programs to Eastern Europeans.
    The focus of the summit's economic attentions was on Poland and
Hungary, already the recipients of a 24-nation aid program
spearheaded by the European Community. East Germany, which had
appealed to the Western leaders for closer ties, apparently did not
receive as much attention.
    On the eve of the summit, East Berlin appealed to the European
Community for ''comprehensive cooperation'' in a variety of areas,
officials said.
    The Western leaders said they would increase aid to Poland and
Hungary until the two countries work out financial packages with the
International Monetary Fund, possibly by the end of the year.
    ''We feel we must give more aid. They have to get through the
winter,'' said Mrs. Thatcher.
    The EC nations are: Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and
Spain.
    
 
AP-NY-11-19-89 0018EST
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