Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-31-Speech-3-102"
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"en.20060531.13.3-102"2
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".
Madam President, let me start with my perception of EU-US relations from the external relations perspective. Commissioner Mandelson will then complete the picture on the economic and trade relations. I shall focus, therefore, more on Mr Brok’s report.
Let me address the Transatlantic Partnership Agreement. I know that Mr Brok’s committee feels very strongly about this, and I fully support the desire to see transatlantic relations go from strength to strength. As you know, I have always been open to exploring the pros and cons of a contractual relationship with the United States. It is indeed strange that we do not have more formal relations with our most important partner. As the President-in-Office of the Council has already said, the question is whether a formal agreement would really bring much added value today to our relations. The most important thing is that the EU and the US work together for our common strategic cause. For this, we need political will, in particular, but also understanding towards each other. I feel that a treaty, for instance, would not have enabled us to bridge the differences which dogged our relations in 2003 and 2004, which were political in nature. At this moment there is no political appetite for such an agreement either in the US Administration or among Member States. However, this might change in the future. Should attitudes change or should it become clear that there is, after all, an institutional obstacle to closer cooperation, then the time might be right to go further.
Let me end with a remark about the important role Parliament plays in transatlantic relations. As you know, I have always been an enthusiastic supporter of interparliamentary exchanges. I am convinced that these relations benefit greatly from the links between the European Parliament and the US Congress. I very much encourage you to continue to build these ties. I thank you for what has already been done in the legislators’ dialogue and what might be done before the summit.
As this excellent report makes clear, the context of EU-US relations has changed enormously over the course of the last year. Following President Bush’s visit to Brussels and the 2005 summit, the tensions we experienced in 2003 and 2004 have been replaced by a new spirit of constructive engagement.
We came out of the 2005 summit with eight declarations on a wide range of issues which guided our collaboration. The declaration on democracy promotion shows how far our cooperation on foreign policy has come. Even if there are differences from time to time – as we have just seen and the President-in-Office of the Council has just mentioned – we are now taking the initiative and being more proactive in our approach, rather than fire-fighting.
Our activity to spread democratic principles, respect for human rights and the rule of law – which Mr Brok highlights in his motion for a resolution – can only go so far. Without the full commitment of the country concerned, democracy cannot be sustained. Nevertheless, when that commitment is there, our coordinated action makes a difference, for instance – as has already been mentioned – in Ukraine, where we supported the reform process; in Belarus, where our common stance against the lack of reform sent a clear message to the regime; and in the Middle East peace process, where coordination is essential and where it works quite well.
I personally have been very closely involved in coordinating our position with the United States. The motion for a resolution mentions the need to better coordinate assistance. I am particularly pleased that the Quartet took up the EU’s proposal for a temporary international mechanism to channel contributions to the basic health and social needs of the Palestinian people. We are working on that basis and I hope that we will be ready by the end of the month.
Before handing over to Mr Mandelson, let me mention four issues which are highlighted in the resolution.
The first is energy. Both the EU and the US are faced with record high oil prices and increased dependence on foreign supplies of fossil fuels. According to current trends, the European Union will have to import 70% of its energy in 2030 compared to 50% today. The US is facing a similar problem. We therefore need to take a holistic approach in tackling this problem, including involving our major partners. At next month’s EU-US Summit, we intend to establish a strategic cooperation on energy, addressing the security of energy supply – including the diversification of supply routes, the enforcement of market rules, the protection of infrastructure, the promotion of alternative sources of energy, and, finally, energy sufficiency. The key is to increase predictability by creating the right market conditions and legal frameworks in both the producer and transit countries. This is the message we will bring to the EU-US Summit, but also to the G8 Summit and to other international partners.
The second issue is visas. One of the Commission’s top priorities is to resolve the issue of the US’s non-reciprocal application of visa requirements. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will reach a solution soon, but we will continue to press for progress and will raise it again with President Bush at the summit. Last time, the issue was highlighted and we hoped that things would progress more quickly. In July 2006, we will issue a second report on visa reciprocity, which may examine the possibility of taking specific measures in response to any lack of progress.
The third issue I wanted to tackle is China. As Mr Brok rightly points out in his resolution, we need to coordinate our approach to third countries, particularly China, effectively. We share the same approach: to help China move towards democracy and integrate fully into the world economy and the world market. Two years ago, we took steps to coordinate ourselves better by establishing the EU-US dialogue on East Asia. This has proved a very useful forum for discussing relations with China."@en1
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