EU-US Summit Facts Brief No. 2
THE NEW TRANSATLANTIC AGENDA
The New Transatlantic Agenda was signed in December 1995 by President
Bill Clinton, the then Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez and European
Commission President Jacques Santer.
The New Transatlantic Agenda has moved the transatlantic relationship
from one of consultation, as foreseen by the 1990 Transatlantic Declaration,
to one of joint action. This intensification of the transatlantic relationship
occurred, in part, as a result of the internal strengthening of Europe
under the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, which created the European Union, and,
for the first time, an intergovernmental foreign and security policy.
In part, the NTA was also a response by the US and Europe to a proliferation
of external challenges, for example, the threat of nuclear proliferation,
the war in Bosnia, the fragile peace process in the Middle East, and the
need to secure economic growth and employment.
The NTA is comprised of four "chapters": first, the promotion of peace,
stability and democracy and development around the world; second, global
challenges (e.g., combatting pollution, drug-trafficking, organized international
crime); third, the promotion of economic relations and expansion of world
trade (including the consolidation of the World Trade Organization); and
building bridges among our business, civic and academic communities on
both sides of the Atlantic. In this latter chapter, both sides pledge
to support and encourage the development of the TransAtlantic Business
Dialogue, launched in November 1995, and to take its recommendations into
consideration in the creation of the New TransAtlantic Marketplace.
To accomplish the goals set out in the NTA, a Joint EU/US Action Plan
setting out over one hundred specific joint actions was also approved.
At each summit, leaders review the progress in achieving the goals of
the NTA and set priorities for the future. The EU and the US can already
point to major achievements under the NTA:
In the area of foreign policy, our joint efforts support the process
of reconstruction and reconciliation in the former Yugoslav republics,
promote dialogue and economic development in the Middle East, and work
to end violence and encourage political stability in Central Africa.
Under global challenges, our agreement on Chemical Precursors
represents a major success in efforts to curb the diversion of chemicals
for use in the manufacture of illegal drugs, we have a well-established
cooperation in combatting drugs in the Caribbean, and we have started
work on a joint information campaign aimed at preventing trafficking in
women.
On economic and trade matters, our successes include the conclusion
of the Information Technology Agreement and the Basic Telecommunications
Services Agreement in the World Trade Organization, and our leadership
in the effort to complete the WTO financial services negotiations by December
12. Bilaterally, we have deepened our cooperation in competition matters
by concluding a positive comity agreement, and, with the help of our business
communities meeting in the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue, we have also
concluded a mutual recognition agreement on conformity assessment, which,
when operational, will facilitate billions of dollars worth of transatlantic
trade.
Progress is also being made in building bridges between our communities,
particularly through the People-to-People Conference convened last May,
which has led, among numerous other initiatives, to the TIES (Transatlantic
Information Exchange System) project, plans for a Transatlantic Digital
Library, and the launching of a Civil Society Dialogue.
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