Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-04-Speech-3-108"
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"Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union is today an important, valued partner of many countries. In an increasingly multipolar world, we have entered into strategic partnerships with our most important partners. However, we have more in common with the United States than with all the European Union’s other strategic partners. We share a major part of the responsibility for a fairer world, in which we all share in the prosperity and in which our security is solidly anchored politically, economically, socially, ecologically and also militarily.
The ‘report card’ after the first year is good. We successfully tackled the first, difficult questions. Above all, we have managed to create a spirit of cooperation and mutual trust such as we have not known before. I am glad that we can count on the full support of the European Parliament, which is involved in every phase of this cooperation. We have good working relationships with all existing transatlantic dialogue partners and I am also thankful for the support of the Council, which will continue to be important in the future too.
There are a number of tangible results: we have moved forward as regards the product safety of imported goods; we have gained acceptance of European financial reporting standards by the United States; we have a common point of view on the promotion of an open environment for global investment, on which the summit will also issue a statement. We are already cooperating more closely on proposed legislation and we want to pursue common European-US standards, so that we do not have to compete against each other with our standards on the world’s markets.
We are a significant step closer to mutual recognition of safety regulations for electric appliances, something we Europeans have been asking the Americans for for many years. The Americans have reopened that particular file, something we did not expect to happen so soon. We have started to coordinate our economic policy interests towards third countries and in the international context.
As yet there is no breakthrough with regard to the 100% scanning of freight containers. This is very worrying. I would therefore ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to make good use of your contacts in Congress, because this was a decision by the US Congress, not the US Government, which is why my efforts to find a solution in talks with the US Government are not very promising. Congress must act; the Government cannot. I hope that your contacts in Congress will help us here.
The Commission has presented two proposals in connection with the work of the Transatlantic Economic Council, relating to the import ban on American poultry. We propose lifting this ban on poultry imports. It is not legally or scientifically tenable. I realise that the debate about this has sometimes been very emotional, obviously without full knowledge of the background and circumstances. I would ask everyone who wants to say something about this topic to inform themselves fully first.
Besides, it is a question that was arbitrarily withdrawn from parliamentary debate for many years, as I have discovered. We must not allow protectionism to put the case, nor should we take the arrogant position that our solutions are the only good ones for consumers and that the way other people do things is automatically bad. It may well be the case that something different is not worse than what we do. This has to be assessed on a case by case basis. Just because something is different does not mean that it is not as good.
If we do not solve this problem, which is basically a very minor problem, but one that is deeply significant for the Americans, we will not have even the remotest chance – and I say this in all seriousness – of bringing the major agricultural policy topics we want to discuss with the Americans to the negotiating table. For example, we will get nowhere with the requests we want to make of the Americans in the area of agriculture. I am directing this remark to the European Agriculture Ministers, who thought it appropriate to say no to this initiative before they had even looked at it. They have caused themselves great harm.
I have no illusions: all the issues that the Transatlantic Economic Council deals with are difficult and nothing will get done quickly. However, with the necessary wisdom and farsightedness, all these issues can be resolved on both sides. This instrument is too important, and too valuable, to squander. Furthermore, in the light of the stalled Doha negotiations, its value cannot be underestimated even though we have every interest in seeing the world trade round through to a successful conclusion, with a result that is beneficial to all involved.
At the summit, we will achieve a speedy conclusion to negotiations on the second stage of the Air Transport Agreement, which will give the transatlantic economy an additional boost.
Ladies and gentlemen, overall, the way relations between the EU and the Unites States are developing is very pleasing. Regardless of the opposing paths that inevitably occur, our relations are constructive and future-oriented. We hope that this summit will send a further strong signal that we are partners who are committed to taking responsibility for the transatlantic region and resolving global issues, regardless of the different legislative periods and different terms of office applicable to the Administration, the Council, Parliament and the Commission.
This partnership is as ambitious as it is hard work. It requires us Europeans to demonstrate more solidarity in the international arena, but it also requires a rethink on the part of our American friends, as it requires them to accept that the role of leadership in the world must be shared. The situation calls for an openness that amounts to more than simplistic pro-European or pro-American, anti-European or anti-American reactions.
I would be sincerely grateful if the European Parliament would continue to support and promote this process energetically.
What we need is a broad awareness that there is not much that divides us, but a great deal more that connects us. A range of important issues will be discussed at the EU-US Summit. In the area of foreign policy, the discussion will focus on cooperation between the EU and the United States in the Western Balkans, especially Kosovo, and in the Middle East. Also on the agenda is a discussion on how we will work together to tackle climate change. This is a difficult topic on which the EU and the United States are still very far apart.
Nevertheless, the political debate in the United States has changed considerably, and it is moving in our direction. Our European goal is to achieve an ambitious, substantial agreement for the period after 2012 within the framework of the global negotiation process under the umbrella of the United Nations. It should be an agreement on which we have the world’s most important industrialised nation, the United States of America, on board.
Energy policy is also on the agenda. We want to push ahead with cooperation in science and technology and at the same time, we need constructive, open dialogue with our traditional and potential energy suppliers. It would be sensible for us to exchange experiences in a transatlantic context.
Our cooperation in the fight against international terrorism became a key joint concern on 11 September 2001, if not before. We want to improve the opportunities to exchange personal information for the purposes of tracing wanted persons. However, this presupposes that we develop and observe joint principles for data protection.
It was inevitable that visa freedom would be a topic at this summit. Last year, the reform of the US visa waiver programme opened the way to finding a solution. The Member States and the Commission are working hand in hand on this – I am delighted to be able to say this – with the Commission concentrating on the Community competences.
I must state quite clearly that, politically, it is incomprehensible that we Europeans, who are united under the Schengen system, are treated differently when we enter our most important partner country. Therefore, we will remind the President of the United States of the promise he made to lift the requirement for a visa.
Let me now turn to economic relations, which the President-in-Office has commented on. The creation last year of the Transatlantic Economic Council, the TEC, brought into being a political instrument to drive forward transatlantic economic integration. This economic growth is the heart of the global economy. It is the centre of gravity for trade and investment worldwide and will remain so for many years to come. Therefore, we are determined to use the TEC to find solutions to questions that have remained open for years – some of them for 10, 15 or even 20 years – and which represent significant barriers to transatlantic trade."@en1
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