Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-08-Speech-3-184"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050608.17.3-184"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
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.
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.
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."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples