EU/US
Summit
EU
Fisheries & Maritime Affairs Commissioner
Joe Borg
European
Parliament Plenary Session, Wednesday, 8 June
2005, Provisional Edition
Transatlantic Relations
Joe Borg, Member of the Commission.
Honourable Members, thank you for giving me
the opportunity to address Parliament shortly
before our yearly EU-US summit, which will take
place in Washington on 20 June. I would like
to say at the outset that we share many of the
views expressed in your motion for a resolution
and welcome the support of the European Parliament
for the strengthening of transatlantic relations.
Transatlantic relations are at a turning point.
We are witnessing a new era of transatlantic
unity. This was most recently confirmed by the
Condoleezza Rice, when she said that, rather
than sitting back and analysing the state of
the transatlantic alliance, we are putting the
alliance to work. This is a timely and welcome
development. As global partners, the EU and
the United States must take the lead in building
a prosperous and safe world and in promoting
democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
We must work together to forge a common strategy
to deal with global problems wherever possible.
That is the message our leaders will doubtless
seek to convey at the upcoming June summit.
President Bush’s successful visit to Brussels
last February was a sign of the United States
Administration’s desire to reach out to Europe
and work together in partnership with the European
Union. It was an important signal that we have
put the problems of approach that arose over
Iraq behind us and that we are ready to work
together in a constructive manner as allies.
The United States is increasingly adopting a
more open attitude to the European Union and
listening more carefully to our concerns. Even
where there are differences between us, we are
learning how best to talk through them. A good
example is the recently launched European Union-US
Strategic Dialogue on East Asia, a forum in
which to discuss the security challenges in
the region, including those related to the rise
of China. Coordination also continues on United
Nations reform, though much work still needs
to be done.
The EU-US summit on 20 June will focus on three
global themes: promoting democratic governance
and human rights around the world, increasing
economic prosperity for our citizens and championing
security and development. I would like to say
a few words on each.
Promoting democracy and freedom is the essence
of President Bush’s foreign policy in his second
term. European Union foreign policy, which is
firmly based on the principles of the United
Nations and the European Security Strategy,
also aims to promote democracy, together with
human rights and the rule of law. The promotion
of democracy remains key in the wider Middle
East and in the Mediterranean region, where
transatlantic cooperation has increased substantially
over the past 12 months.
Shortly after our summit in Washington, we and
the United States will co-host an international
conference in Brussels on Iraq. This is an important
signal of unified international support for
the government and people in their difficult
task of working towards stabilisation and reconstruction.
In addition we have been in daily contact over
Lebanon’s election process, and together we
will continue to support the Lebanese people
as they consolidate democracy. In Israel and
Palestine, our cooperative approach within the
Quartet is also intensifying.
On economic prosperity, the European Union and
the United States have the most integrated economies
in the world and benefit from the largest trade
and investment relationship. But we can do more,
and we want to. To move this agenda forward,
we have spent nine months consulting all stakeholders
on the obstacles they encountered and distilled
the result in the recently published Commission
communication, ‘A stronger EU-US Partnership
and a more open market for the 21st century’.
The communication contains a set of pragmatic
proposals for boosting EU-US trade and investment
and thus promoting competitiveness, growth,
and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
There are three basic strands to our proposals.
First, regulating the transatlantic market,
including areas such as services, investment,
procurement and competition; second, promoting
knowledge and innovation; and third, instituting
smarter and safer borders for swifter trade
and investment.
In the field of regulatory cooperation, the
idea is to find ways for regulators to engage
with each other at an early stage to avoid unnecessary
conflicts and costs, and to promote convergence.
The second strand, on promoting knowledge and
innovation, is crucial for generating economic
growth and jobs. New technologies, in particular
e-commerce, Internet governance and mobile telecommunication
services, generated considerable interest amongst
the stakeholders consulted.
The third strand of our package is striking
the right balance between heightened security
requirements and the continuation of open trade
and passenger transport.
Our communication also addresses the overall
structure and goals of transatlantic relations.
The question we address is what the political
profile of our relations should be 10 years
after the signature of the 1995 New Transatlantic
Agenda and fifteen years after the 1990 Transatlantic
Declaration. In essence, we must make sure that
the structure and the goals of transatlantic
relations are adapted to today’s challenges.
We would also like to see legislators – the
European Parliament and United States Congress
– build stronger ties. For this reason we suggest
enhancing the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue
and making it a fully-fledged transatlantic
assembly. The Commission stands ready to assist
as necessary, but an initiative of this nature
naturally has to come first and foremost from
this House and from the United States Congress.
Championing security and development is the
third theme of the summit. As we continue to
identify measures to enhance the security of
our citizens against terrorism and the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction, it is worth
remembering that such phenomena have claimed
many more victims beyond our borders than within
them. This reinforces our determination to work
with the United States to spread the benefits
of security in all its facets and to help release
peoples everywhere from the daily tyranny of
terrorism and violence.
The European Union and the United States should
combine skills and experience in the field of
conflict prevention and crisis response and
bring to bear the full range of civilian and
military tools at our disposal. We should consult
routinely on current and potential crises. We
should strengthen cooperation in post-conflict
assistance and reconstruction. We should prepare,
through joint training and exercises, and we
should work together to improve international
capacities to respond to crises and to prevent
future crises from erupting. The European Union
is anxious to cooperate with the United States
on crisis management, both civilian and military.
We also recognise the need to tackle poverty,
disease, corruption and instability, which terrorists
seek to exploit and intensify. Our common agenda
should prioritise the Millennium Development
Goals.
In conclusion, the Commission welcomes the Parliament’s
motion for a resolution and, as I have indicated
previously, we largely agree with it. We are
taking an ambitious, forward-looking approach
in developing our relations with the United
States and are working actively in the areas
mentioned in the draft resolution.
We have a challenging agenda in front of us.
We are looking forward to your support, and
the support of United States Congress, to accomplish
it.
