EU/US
Summit
Texts adopted by the European
Parliament
Thursday, 9 June 2005, Provisional Edition
Transatlantic Relations
P6_TA-PROV(2005)0238 B6-0350, 0352, 0354 and 0357/2005
European Parliament resolution on ensuring the success of the
forthcoming EU-US Summit in Washington, DC, on 20 June 2005
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Transatlantic Declaration on EC-US relations of
1990 and the New Transatlantic Agenda of 1995,
– having regard to the Conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 16
and 17 December 2004 and in particular to the sections entitled 'An
international order based on effective multilateralism' and 'Working with
partners',
– having regard to its resolution of 22 April 2004 on the state of the
Transatlantic Partnership on the eve of the EU-US Summit in Dublin on
25/26 June 2004(1),
– having regard to the outcome of the EU-US Summit held on 25 and 26 June
2004 in Dublin,
– having regard to its resolution of 13 January 2005 on transatlantic
relations(2) ,
– having regard to its previous resolutions of 17 May 2001 on the state of
the transatlantic dialogue(3) , of 13 December 2001 on EU judicial
cooperation with the United States in combating terrorism(4) , of 15 May
2002 on the Commission Communication to the Council on reinforcing the
Transatlantic Relationship: Focusing on Strategy and Delivering Results(5)
and of 19 June 2003 on a renewed transatlantic relationship for the third
millennium(6) , and to its recommendation of 10 March 2004 to the Council
on the Guantánamo detainees" right to a fair trial(7) ,
– having regard to US Congress Draft House Resolution 77 on Transatlantic
Relations presented on 9 February 2005,
– having regard to the statements made after the meeting of European Union
Heads of State and Government and the President of the United States on 22
February 2005 in Brussels,
– having regard to the Commission Communication of 18 May 2005 entitled 'A
stronger EU-US Partnership and a more open market for the 21st century'
(COM(2005)0196),
– having regard to the hearing of the Committee on International Trade on
26 May 2005 concerning transatlantic economic relations,
– having regard to the document produced by the OECD, setting out the
benefits of liberalising product markets and reducing barriers to
international trade and investment ('Preferential Trading Arrangements in
Agricultural and Food Markets - The Case of the European Union and the
United States', published in March 2005),
– having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas democracy, human rights and the rule of law, sustainable
economies and sustainable development have proven to be common values
capable of forming a solid basis for both the transatlantic partnership
and European integration, which together have brought about stability,
peace and prosperity in our societies during the last 60 years,
B. whereas, as the European Security Strategy makes clear, the
transatlantic partnership is very important,
C. whereas, however, new threats and conflicts in the new international
environment challenge those values and achievements to such an extent that
only cooperation between the transatlantic partners on the basis of a firm
institutionalised structure can bring any hope of success,
D. whereas the New Transatlantic Agenda has succeeded in considerably
increasing the integration and cohesion of the transatlantic economy but
has also proved insufficient to resolve high-level political issues such
as decisions regarding the use of force and issues regarding world order,
E. whereas the moment has therefore arrived for the New Transatlantic
Agenda of 1995 to be urgently revised in order to take account of current
realities and further deepen transatlantic relations on the clear
assumption that working together brings more benefits to each partner than
working in different, or indeed opposing, directions,
F. whereas international treaties are the basic elements upon which to lay
the foundations of an effective multilateral framework and whereas in
several policy areas, such as those relating to the International Criminal
Court, the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, data protection principles
and support for the development of large civil aircraft, differences in
analysis, diagnosis and policy approach exist between the EU and the US,
G. whereas the persistent situation at Guantánamo Bay is creating tensions
in transatlantic relations,
H. whereas the fight against terrorism can be successful only if the
action is carried out through a strengthened transatlantic partnership
which also pays full attention to the causes of terrorism and to a sincere
commitment to upholding and promoting human and fundamental rights, data
protection principles and all other founding values upon which the
partnership has been built,
I. whereas this resolution provides an initial response to the recent
Commission Communication on EU-US relations,
1. Welcomes the improving climate of transatlantic relations, as evidenced
in the recent handling of both global and bilateral issues by governmental
and legislative leaders on both sides of the Atlantic; believes that this
positive backdrop offers genuine opportunities for the European Union and
the United States to work closely together in the years to come on a wide
range of policy challenges of common concern;
2. Stresses that at the EU-US Summit on 20 June 2005 in Washington new
impetus should be given to transatlantic relations by the updating of the
New Transatlantic Agenda and its replacement with a Transatlantic
Partnership Agreement to take effect from 2007;
3. Takes the view that this Transatlantic Partnership Agreement should
expand the existing Agenda in the political, economic and security fields,
on the understanding that the partnership should primarily remain one of
political engagement; considers that, as regards the economic relationship
which, according to a recent OECD study, could increase GDP per capita in
Europe by 2 to 3%, the remaining barriers to transatlantic trade and
investment should be identified and a route map developed which outlines a
course of action to strengthen the transatlantic market within a clear
timetable by prioritising areas of action, to be accompanied by the
establishment of an area-specific regulatory dialogue to assist the
process;
4. Notes that the new Reinsurance Directive will create a single market
for regulations and supervision; calls upon the USA to end its
discrimination against European companies through the imposition of costly
collateral requirements which distort competition in favour of US
companies;
5. Believes that a broader framework of this nature will allow the EU and
the US to combine more effectively their efforts to encourage others to
move towards upholding the vital principles of democracy, human rights and
the rule of law around the world;
6. Welcomes in this respect the above-mentioned Commission Communication
of 18 May 2005, which represents a valuable first step towards the
establishment of a Transatlantic Partnership Agreement, but criticises its
lack of courage; recognises that the EU-US Summit process should provide a
vital forum for the discussion of major priorities of both a global and
bilateral nature, imparting strategic impetus to the relationship;
7. Calls, in this framework, on the US to assume its shared responsibility
for economic stability in an increasingly interdependent world and
expresses its concern about the potentially dangerous impact of the large
US federal budget deficit on the global economy and the balance of
international currency markets;
8. Reiterates its rejection of the proposed lifting of the embargo on arms
exports to China, unless and until the human rights situation in that
country improves substantially; believes that it would be helpful for a
high-level group to be established at the EU-US Summit on 20 June 2005 to
develop a joint EU-US approach to the question of exports involving
technology transfer;
9. Notes that visa policy is now a policy of exclusive Community
competence; asks the Commission, therefore, to commence negotiations with
the US Administration without delay in order to make the Visa Waiver
Program valid for all European citizens and to remove current
discrimination, in particular against the citizens of the new Member
States;
10. Recommends that the proposed Transatlantic Partnership Agreement
establish a transatlantic 'community of action' for regional and global
cooperation and address challenges through joint action, in particular:
a) the promotion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law and
support for effective multilateralism,
b) the advancement of the peace process in the Middle East in agreement
with the governments and people of the region and on the basis of the
Quartet's Road Map,
c) the quest for global security, by working together on the following
issues:
i) fighting international terrorism,
ii) the development of a joint strategy towards a multilateralisation of
the non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the use of
nuclear energy,
iii) promotion and development of common approaches to relationships with
other major geopolitical actors such as China, India, Japan, Latin America
and Russia,
iv) the revival of negotiated arms control and disarmament at multilateral
level, within the UN system, and at bilateral level,
v) rapid reactions to sudden and unexpected political changes, such as
recently experienced in the Ukraine, Lebanon and Kyrgyzstan,
vi) an active commitment to reform of the UN, and in particular its
Security Council, including its composition, on the basis of full respect
for the Security Council's authority to grant permission for the use of
force to solve international conflicts and in order to make it more
effective and accountable and increase its capacity to implement its
decisions,
d) enhancement of the transatlantic economic partnership in the framework
of the above-mentioned Transatlantic Partnership Agreement, complemented
by a Transatlantic Aviation Agreement and an effective Financial Market
Regulatory Dialogue;
11. Recalls that the conclusion of the multilateral WTO Doha Development
Agenda is a real priority for sustainable global growth, to which end the
EU and the US should work together in full cooperation; considers that
bilateral EU-US economic initiatives will be complementary to this
process, especially in the regulatory field;
12. Expects that the EU-US Summit will make substantial progress towards
establishing a joint effective response and a clear financial commitment –
on the shared basis of the Millennium Development Goals – to address new
global challenges which cut across national boundaries, notably poverty
reduction, communicable diseases and degradation of the environment, in
particular by promoting dialogues on climate protection and transport
emissions;
13. Considers it equally essential that political issues on which there is
disagreement, such as the Guantánamo case, or where there are strong
differences of opinion over certain international instruments, be
discussed by both partners in a spirit of cooperation; stresses the
importance of a full understanding of the values at stake, such as strict
respect for human rights provisions and the quest for an effective
multilateral approach, which must be taken as a basis for joint
discussions, as they have been the distinctive characteristics of our
democratic approach towards the rest of the world since we jointly founded
the United Nations system;
14. Reiterates the view that NATO should develop its potential as a forum
for political debate in a true partnership of equals, where a sensible
balance must be struck between the instruments of prevention, crisis
management and military capability; recommends to this end a closer
security relationship between NATO and the European Union; believes that a
stronger EU-US partnership will complement, rather than undermine, this
relationship;
15. Calls on the EU-US Summit to start strengthening the parliamentary
dimension of the Transatlantic Partnership by transforming the
Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue (TLD) into a Transatlantic Assembly
able to hold legislators' summits prior to EU-US summits, and to build
synergies between the TLD and the New Transatlantic Agenda dialogues,
inter alia by launching new jointly-funded programmes for exchange between
legislative staffers and by creating a small TLD secretariat;
16. Believes that the role of other dialogues under the New Transatlantic
Agenda should also be reassessed; believes in particular that the
Transatlantic Business Dialogue will need to be reshaped in order to
provide fully representative business input on these issues with a view to
strengthening the economic partnership;
17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the
Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the
President and Congress of the United States of America.
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(1) OJ C 104 E, 30.4.2004, p. 1043.
(2) Texts Adopted of that date, P6_TA(2005)0007.
(3) OJ C 34 E, 7.2.2002, p. 359.
(4) OJ C 177 E, 25.7.2002, p. 288.
(5) OJ C 180 E, 31.7.2003, p. 392.
(6) OJ C 69 E, 19.3.2004, p. 124.
(7) OJ C 102 E, 28.4.2004, p. 640.
