EP - Transatlantic relations - MEPs call for fresh approach

Motions for resolutions - Transatlantic relations
Doc.: B6-0021/2005, B6-0025/2005, B6-0026/2005, B6-0028/2005, B6-0029/2005, B6-0033/2005
Vote : 13.01.2005

Parliament adopted a joint resolution on transatlantic relations by 319 votes in favour, 94 against and 151 abstentions hoping that the second term in office of President BUSH and the new administration will lead to a fresh start in EU-US transatlantic relations. The House declares the willingness of the European Union, and specifically the European Parliament, to co-operate and work together to solve global problems which require global efforts and a common approach. MEPs in this respect, welcome the visit by President Bush to the European institutions in February 2005. Parliament welcomes the progress achieved at the last EU-US summit on 26 June 2004 in Ireland in strengthening the transatlantic partnership. MEPs consider the readiness to take joint actions in a wide range of fields as a good indicator for the future of the partnership, reflecting the realisation that working together is better than going in different directions. Parliament is aware that in several policy areas, such as the International Criminal Court and Kyoto, differences in analysis, diagnosis and policy approach exist between the EU and the US. The House is concerned about the potentially dangerous impact of the growing US federal budget deficit on the global economy and the balance of international currency markets. MEPs call for a further debate on these policy areas where positions between the EU and the US remain strongly divided and hopes that the new administration will make a real effort to build on the partnership between the EU and the US.

MEPs propose the building of a transatlantic 'community of action' for regional and global cooperation and challenges, focusing in particular on the following three joint actions:

(a) the development of a peace initiative in the Middle East in agreement with the governments and peoples of the region, with the aim of contributing to a solution to the existing conflicts, including encouraging democracy in Palestine, Iran and Iraq;

(b) the search for global security, which should be tackled with the following priorities in mind:

- the fight against international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the revival of negotiated arms control and disarmament at multilateral level, within the UN system, and at bilateral level;

- the need to address the sources of terrorism through, for example, coordination in the area of development assistance and support for emerging democratic processes on the basis of full respect for human rights and international law. MEPs call on both partners to actively engage in a reform of the UN, and in particular its Security Council, including its composition, in order to make it more effective and accountable and increase capacity to implement its decisions;

- the need for an effective response - on the shared basis of the Millennium development goals - to new global challenges which cut across national boundaries, notably poverty reduction, communicable diseases and degradation of the environment, in particular by promoting dialogues on climate protection and transport emissions. MEPs believe, in this regard, that the tsunami disaster provides the opportunity for a joint concerted assistance and relief action for the countries affected in support of the UN, action which must be followed by a long-term programme of rehabilitation and reconstruction aimed at the sustainable development of the region;

(c) a new impetus for the strengthening of the economic partnership, by focusing on specific ideas to further transatlantic economic integration to the fullest, working towards a comprehensive Transatlantic Aviation Agreement and accelerating the Financial Market Regulatory Dialogue to promote a vibrant and open transatlantic capital market. Parliament considers that such a dialogue could be used as a model in other sectors to make progress towards the objective of completing the transatlantic market by 2015.

MEPs consider that the above-mentioned initiatives should lead, by December 2005, to agreement between the transatlantic partners to update the 1995 New Transatlantic Agenda, replacing it with a 'Transatlantic Partnership Agreement', to be implemented from 2007. The House also considers that the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue (TLD) should be fully activated, that an early warning system should immediately be put in place between the two sides, and that the existing interparliamentary exchange should be gradually transformed into a de facto 'Transatlantic Assembly'.

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