Category: 2015

In Fiscal Year 2015, the United States has allocated more than $134 million for assistance to support the reforms needed to advance the Western Balkans’ integration with the European Union (EU) and NATO.  This includes assistance to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, as well as security assistance to Croatia and Slovenia.  U.S. assistance…

On Wednesday, November 25, 2015, the President signed into law: H.R. 208, the “Recovery Improvements for Small Entities After Disaster Act of 2015,” which expands access to Small Business Administration (SBA) loans and programs to small businesses during major disasters; and improves performance, oversight, and administration of SBA’s disaster loan program; H.R. 639, the “Improving…

Today I have signed into law S. 1356, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016.”  I vetoed an earlier version of this legislation that failed to authorize funding for our national defense in a fiscally responsible manner.  As I noted at the time, my first and most important responsibility, as President and Commander in Chief,…

Vice President Joe Biden met today with Slovenian President Borut Pahor to discuss bilateral relations and European security issues.  The Vice President thanked President Pahor for co-hosting the Brdo-Brijuni summit and for remaining deeply engaged in supporting reform and Euro-Atlantic integration processes in the Western Balkans.  The two leaders also discussed European security challenges and…

Vice President Joe Biden met today with European Council President Donald Tusk. The two leaders discussed how best to coordinate efforts to deal with the European migration crisis. They also discussed the situation in Syria and Iraq and the fight against ISIL. Finally, the leaders discussed the need for further economic and rule of law…

East Room 12:00 P.M. EST PRESIDENT OBAMA: President Hollande, it has been an honor to welcome you to the White House before, in happier times than this. But as Americans, we stand by our friends — in good times and in bad — no matter what. So on behalf of the American people, I want…

East Room 5:19 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! (Applause.) Thank you. Everybody please have a seat. Everybody have a seat. Well, welcome to the White House, everybody. A bunch of people were saying I was pretty busy today — which is true. (Applause.) But this is a fun kind of busy right here. Today,…

The President spoke today by phone with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to discuss Turkey’s downing of a Russian aircraft.  The President expressed U.S. and NATO support for Turkey’s right to defend its sovereignty.  The leaders agreed on the importance of deescalating the situation and pursuing arrangements to ensure that such incidents do not…

President Obama today convened his National Security Council to discuss the response to recent terrorist attacks by ISIL. The President was briefed that there is currently no specific, credible threat to the homeland from ISIL. The President was also briefed on ways we can enhance our existing security and intelligence cooperation with partners, building on…

The Vice President spoke with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff today about the importance of achieving an ambitious climate agreement at the upcoming 21st Conference of the Parties climate change summit that will be held in Paris, France from November 30‎th to December 11th. The Vice President underscored the significance of Brazilian leadership in the talks…