Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-31-Speech-3-101"
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".
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union probably has no other partner in the world with which it has such close and intensive relations as the United States of America. It goes without saying, then, that it is a matter of central importance for every Presidency that a strong and well-functioning network of relations should be in place.
A number of important challenges raise overlapping political questions in their various aspects, and they still deserve particular attention, for instance international humanitarian law, anti-terrorism and cooperation in crisis management. It should not go unmentioned that there are topics on which we have clear differences of opinion, and in this broad dialogue it does not go without being discussed.
Guantánamo – about which we have just had a debate – is one of these issues. Nevertheless it is important in this context to mention that the dialogue of experts on international law, which was begun under our Presidency, serves the purpose of arriving together at positions which are in accordance with our common fundamental values.
Other controversial themes which we keep on putting on the agenda of formal summits between the EU and the USA are the Visa Waiver Programme and the International Criminal Court. We share the same opinion on many multilateral questions and we work hand in hand, but the International Criminal Court is one of the points about which there are differences of opinion.
We also take a critical view of the USA’s attempts to conclude agreements with third countries relating to Article 98 of the Rome Statute, since this runs counter to the International Criminal Court’s aim to have a universally valid jurisdiction.
However, let me also mention a positive aspect in this context, that being the fact that the USA has permitted the prosecution of war crimes in Sudan.
One important component to which reference was made earlier is economic relations. Given the vast degree of economic interconnection and mutual interdependence, the successful further development of our economic relations must be a matter of priority. We are each others’ most important trading partners.
Two thirds of direct investment in the European Union comes from the USA, and reciprocal investments at present amount to EUR 1 500 billion. Mutual trade amounts to approximately EUR 1 billion per day. In view of our joint share of world production the European Union and the USA have a particular global responsibility, and so it is essential that we should cooperate closely in economic questions as well and strive together towards a progressive removal of trade barriers. I am sure that the Commission will go into this matter in even greater detail.
Since the Spring Summit, we have achieved a great deal with the implementation of the jointly agreed working programme, for instance the first meeting of the Regulatory Cooperation Forum. This deals among other things with the reduction or rather the removal of trade barriers which arise because of different safety regulations for cars or other goods.
Moreover, we are working on a common strategy for the protection of intellectual property rights. We welcome Parliament’s suggestions and recommendations, as expressed in the reports of your Members Mr Brok and Mrs Mann. The reports show us very clearly how hard we are all working together in a united effort, and also that improving transatlantic relations is just as much a matter of great importance for you as it is for the Council and the Commission.
With this in mind, I would also like to mention that a meeting of the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue – an important component of our relations – recently took place in Vienna. Passing on to the specific question of the Transatlantic Partnership Agreement, discussed in the report, it seems to us that the time is not yet ripe for this, and so the Presidency recommends, in the first instance, continuing to build upon existing practical cooperation. The New Transatlantic Agenda of 1995 continues to be the currently-applicable framework for our relations.
In retrospect, 2005 saw the relationship characterised, on the whole, by positive developments. We have achieved considerable progress on a number of issues, and we are – as is often the case prior to policies are determined – engaging in dialogue in order to reach a convergence of opinions.
Since we have received clear signals from the USA that it takes a somewhat cautious view of the prospect of further formalisation of relations, we have chosen to concentrate on content and concrete results and are now striving towards a more effective use of existing structures.
The regular formal meetings of senior officials are well supplemented by a great many further contacts and agreements in all areas of common interest. They have made the political dialogue more strategic and at the same time more substantial. In many areas referred to in your House’s reports, we are already working closely together, and so there is a community of actions.
The next Summit in June 2006 in Vienna is currently being prepared by the Council and the Commission. Our goal for the Summit is to maintain the recent dynamic in transatlantic relations. We also want to create new initiatives for further cooperation leading up to the next Summit, whereby a matter of particular concern to us is to communicate better the intensity, importance and usefulness of the transatlantic partnership to the Europeans as well. We have therefore decided to concentrate on a Summit statement that will look towards the future and be as concise and substantial as possible, and to supplement this with progress reports for political and economic areas.
However, we will also state our future priorities at the Summit. These are among others a reinforced cooperation in the global promotion of peace, democracy and human rights, a new dialogue about energy security, the conclusion of an agreement on air traffic and concentrating on the implementation of intellectual property rights in third countries. Europe and the USA are bound together inseparably, not only historically, but also by common values. It is only together that we can meet global challenges.
Our many common economic and political interests as well as our security interests outweigh the differences which can and must exist between partners. We are ultimately indispensable partners for each other, partners who have to bear a global responsibility together.
Consider for instance the area of promotion of democracy, where we can take positive credit for our close cooperation during the presidential elections in Belarus. In the run-up to the elections we declared ourselves, over and over again, in favour of a free and fair electoral process. We called for the protection of the opposition and adopted parallel strategies in support of democratic forces. After the elections, which were neither free nor fair, we also agreed to impose travel restrictions and targeted financial sanctions on government members and other leading individuals.
In the area of promotion of democracy, much the same holds true for Ukraine, where we are working together closely with the USA to consolidate democratic and market-economy structures.
Another example of a very close and successful ongoing cooperation is the Western Balkans. In this case we are agreed on the necessary European or rather European-Atlantic perspective for the states of the Western Balkans. We are, in the Contact Group, working towards a common position for the final status talks on Kosovo. We affirm our commitment to a continuing international presence, and we are convinced that close cooperation on the basis of equal rights between the EU and NATO in the area of security policy is indispensable.
A further example is the Middle East Peace Process, where we are continually working very closely together to coordinate our position within the framework of the Quartet and on the basis of the Road Map – now a topic of particular significance, given the elections and new governments in Israel and among the Palestinians as well.
Perhaps you will allow me here to make a short comment on Iran. Tomorrow a meeting of foreign ministers takes place in Vienna, in which the EU three, Javier Solana, China, Russia and the USA will be taking part. The intention is that, at this meeting, an offer to Iran should be finalised, one that should make it possible for Iran to use atomic energy exclusively for peaceful purposes. At the same time there must be absolute certainty that Iran is using or rather developing nuclear energy for no other purpose.
Today we heard with interest that my American counterpart Condoleezza Rice has spoken of the possibility, and I quote, ‘of newer and more positive relations between the USA and Iran’. We regard this as an important signal and hope that active American participation will bring us success in building a new cooperative relationship with Iran. This is where direct dialogue between Washington and Tehran is certainly of central significance.
Stability and security, peace and prosperity are also the highest common goals of transatlantic cooperation with regard to Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the area of justice and internal affairs, it has been possible, during the Austrian Presidency, to involve the USA in the implementation of foreign policy strategy."@en1
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