Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-11-10-Speech-3-080"
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"en.20101110.14.3-080"2
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"Mr President, let me first answer a number of specific questions which have been put, and start with climate change. The new majority in the US House of Representatives is likely to limit President Obama’s room for manoeuvre even further. We need to make sure that the US does not back-track on its Copenhagen commitments and we must encourage them to contribute to a successful outcome of the COP 16 meeting in Cancún.
On the economy, jobs and growth are at the heart of the discussion. We will compare notes on the G20 results, especially financial and banking reforms and the need to deliver a global trade deal, and look for EU-US added value there. At the same time, we need to focus more on delivering the full potential of the transatlantic market. My aim will be to refocus the TEC on a transatlantic agenda for jobs, growth and innovation. With the support of the EU-US Senate leaders, I will look to move forward on that at the forthcoming TEC meeting on 17 December.
In the meantime, we can advance on concrete issues, such as fast-start finance, reduce emissions from deforestation, and facilitate adaptation to climate change for poor and developing countries. These can proceed without US domestic legislation, as can biological research work on clean technologies.
There was also a question on the US visa waiver programme and the fact that a number of EU Member States – Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland and Romania – are still not admitted to this programme. We attach much importance to their admission and we will continue working with our US counterparts on resolving this issue.
In relation to the introduction of the ESTA fee for travellers under the visa waiver programme, the Commission has repeatedly voiced concern that these new requirements are inconsistent with the commitment of the US to facilitate transatlantic mobility and that they constitute an additional burden for European citizens travelling to the US. We need to make sure that work on security issues, such as PNR, goes hand in hand with facilitating transatlantic travel for legitimate travellers.
Regarding the question on the Wikileaks documents, we are unable to comment on the information contained in the leaks at present. However, as a matter of principle, the EU is firmly committed to upholding the absolute prohibition of torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. This is all we can say at this moment in time.
There was a question from Ms Quisthoudt on the possibility of a free trade agreement with the US. We are not considering this at this moment in time, Ms Quisthoudt, because, as regards the EU-US trade relationship, an earlier study conducted by DG Trade on non-tariff measures shows that non-tariff barriers remain the major obstacle in EU-US trade relations and concludes that the GDP of the EU and the US would increase by about EUR 160 billion and exports would grow by 2.1% and 6.1% respectively if half of the non-tariff measures and regulatory differences were removed. In fact, there are not that many tariffs any more between the US and the EU. That said, existing barriers are often very difficult to remove but this is precisely why, in the TEC, we are pushing for early and upstream cooperation, for example, before we adopt regulations in important areas, in particular, emerging markets and new technologies.
Regarding the TEC and what its agenda might be, we are currently working with our US counterparts to fix the final agenda for the next TEC meeting, bearing in mind the input from advisers. The main themes we are looking at are innovation and emerging technologies, and strategies for greening our economies and building the transatlantic market place. Under these themes, we will have opportunities to discuss a wide range of issues including e-health, the interoperability of electronic health records, secure trade, mutual recognition of authorised trade standards and the overall approach to regulation, the Innovation Action Partnership and exchange of information on consumer product safety. We will also discuss joint responses to economic challenges. Furthermore, at the end of November, as was asked by the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, I will discuss standards. I believe the precise date is 29 November.
The last question was on the 100% scanning of inbound container freight. We are concerned about the US requirements that, by July 2012, all US-bound maritime containers will have to be scanned before being placed on a vessel at a foreign port. We believe that this requirement will not bring proven security benefits and will be a barrier to smooth trade. For these reasons, the Commission does not envisage the implementation of 100% scanning in EU ports. The US Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, has announced plans to push back the July 2012 deadline for 100% scanning by two additional years. The Commission is hopeful that this delay will lead the US Congress to review its policy and favour a risk-based approach to supply chain security.
The main challenges for the EU over the next year suggest many synergies and opportunities for cooperation with the US: dealing with the economic crisis; governance, restoring growth and jobs by accelerating reforms, building an area of freedom, justice and security, and pulling our weight on the global stage. We have a number of important tasks ahead as we look to the forthcoming EU-US summit and beyond. One of them is building a more open and outward-looking EU-US relationship that would take into account the full scope of relations that both the EU and the US are building with emerging powers such as China, India, Russia and Brazil."@en1
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