Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-10-21-Speech-3-228"
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"Mr President, honourable Members, as you know, our relations with the US and the transatlantic cooperation between the US and the EU are extremely important. It is a cornerstone of EU foreign policy, founded on the values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights and international law, which is something that unites us. The new administration in the United States has shown great interest in deepening and extending links with us in Europe. We will have the first Transatlantic Economic Council with President Obama’s administration on 26-27 October. Shortly after that, on 3 November, there will be a summit between the EU and the US. These are two important opportunities to strengthen our relations. Today’s debate is therefore very important.
I would like to say a few words about the economic partnership and the Transatlantic Economic Council, the TEC. This will provide us with a mechanism at the highest possible level to speed up current negotiations and establish new areas for regulatory cooperation. We need to draw up a work programme for the TEC that can be established next year. That will give us a forum for cooperation, where we can deal with issues relating to globalisation and rapid technical changes. Up to now, it has been an important forum but it could, of course, be better, not least when it comes to the broader strategic issues relating to the transatlantic economy and common economic challenges. The Transatlantic Economic Council is even more important today in light of the financial crisis.
Allow me now to say a few words about legal and police cooperation. For a while now, we have had cooperation with the United States in this area, which is reflected in a number of agreements on extradition and mutual legal assistance which will enter into force in a few months. We often discuss this with the European Parliament, which I know is an active and committed partner on these matters – often a critical partner, too, which is a good thing. In this regard, I only need remind you of the debate on passenger name records, for example. Once the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force, the European Parliament’s influence on, and involvement in, these matters will increase.
We are currently working on what is referred to as the Washington Statement, which will describe the situation with regard to legal and domestic policy issues and the cooperation in this area between the EU and the US. This statement must be meaningful and it must be followed by concrete measures. What we need is not more elegant words, but rather cooperation that is tangible and active.
Naturally, we need to establish our common values, namely democracy and the rule of law, along with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. We are, of course, interested in cooperating in all areas that constitute a threat to these common values.
We are seeking early consultation between the two parties when political incidents occur that may affect the other party. We are emphasising our common ambitions to be active in international forums to achieve full implementation of multilateral obligations.
We are cooperating with regard to increasing the security of travel documents and the introduction of biometric passports as an international standard. An important example is the agreement on airline passenger data. Together, we will ensure that the agreement works, but at the same time, the privacy of individuals must be protected and the systems of the different countries must be respected.
The list of areas of cooperation is a long one. Let me name just a few: people trafficking, the sexual exploitation of children, the drugs trade, economic crime, IT crime, corruption, the confiscation of aids to, and the profits from, crime and the fight against terrorism. This all requires joint and, to a certain degree, coordinated efforts.
We have been working to improve legal cooperation with regard to detecting, investigating and prosecuting cross-border criminals and terrorists. We look forward to the agreement between the EU and the US on extradition and mutual legal assistance entering into force at the beginning of next year.
The agreement has now been transposed in all 27 EU Member States and a joint working group has been set up between the EU and the US to ensure that the agreement is implemented. Seminars are being planned to bring the players involved closer together and to help them monitor the implementation.
Finally, I would like to mention three more points. The first concerns the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. This is extremely important. The fight against cross-border crime and terrorism often requires the exchange of personal data which, to some degree, forces us to make certain concessions with regard to fundamental freedoms and rights. This must be counterbalanced by the fundamental and rigorous protection of personal data. The cooperation and dialogue in this area is continuing and should be stepped up.
I would like to highlight a number of areas on which we are cooperating and in connection with which we hope to be able to achieve results and closer relations during the summit.
My second point relates to critical infrastructure. We need to cooperate with one another in connection with the damage that could be done to critical infrastructure in the event of a natural disaster or a terrorist attack or attacks on our information systems. That could have devastating consequences. There is huge scope for cooperation in this area.
Thirdly, the EU and the US have undertaken to work on the basis of the principles of freedom, democracy and justice. We are determined to promote these principles throughout the world. We do this whenever we work together and when we work in international forums such as the United Nations.
The cooperation between liaison officers and delegations has proved fruitful, for example, in the Western Balkans and in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This cooperation must be improved. The various measures within this cooperation can complement each other. We also need to coordinate our technical assistance better. We will continue our donor cooperation, the cooperation on aid and the operational cooperation in respect of Latin America and West Africa to help in the fight against the drugs trade and to be able to meet other challenges.
I am very pleased that the American administration is showing such a strong interest in cooperating with us. It is in our interests to take up this offer of working to safeguard our values and our interests in a constructive dialogue, a cooperation which will hopefully lead to some tangible results in the future.
On the issue of the climate, we welcome the higher ambitions on the US’s part. We must work together with the American administration to achieve a comprehensive, globally binding agreement in Copenhagen. We call on the US to set targets that are comparable to those set by the EU. The United States and the EU must be prepared, together, to support climate measures such as emissions reduction, adaptation, financing and other support for developing countries.
Another important issue is, of course, the financial and economic crisis. Very close cooperation will be needed in order to follow up the agreements that we reached at the G20 summit and to restore confidence in the financial markets. Together, we will work to conclude the Doha round with a positive result in 2010, because this is extremely important in the efforts to promote recovery and combat protectionism.
We will, of course, also discuss a number of regional issues, for example, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, the Middle East, Russia and the Western Balkans. We have regular and ever closer cooperation in connection with crisis management, which found expression, for example, in the US’s participation in a civil CSDP task, the Eulex mission in Kosovo.
We are also cooperating on energy issues, which is something that needs to be strengthened now, and we hope to be able to establish a special energy council between the EU and the US at ministerial level.
There is interest on both sides in deepening cooperation on domestic and legal matters. I will come back to this in a moment, as I understand that the debates have been combined.
With regard to non-proliferation and disarmament, cooperation between the EU and the American administration has gained new momentum, and Barack Obama is giving priority to this issue. We hope that this can be reflected in a new joint declaration on non-proliferation and disarmament in connection with the summit in November.
Both sides of the Atlantic are interested in strengthening our cooperation with regard to development. The EU and the US are, of course, responsible for the vast majority of all the world’s development aid. The forthcoming summit is therefore an excellent opportunity to discuss this and any other relevant issues at the highest level. The Swedish Presidency is very pleased to have the opportunity to represent the EU."@en1
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