EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner to attend EU-US Troika in Washington

FR

The Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner will attend an EU-US Ministerial Troika meeting in Washington on 19th March, alongside German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier representing the current EU Presidency, and High Representative Javier Solana. The agenda will be dominated by External Relations issues, notably the Middle East and the announcement of a new Palestinian Government of National Unity, as well as Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria; the future of Kosovo; relations with Russia; Sudan/Darfur and Afghanistan. Discussions will also cover preparations for the next EU-US Summit to be held on 30th April in Washington. The European Commission will signal its full support for the German Presidency's proposal for a new Transatlantic Economic Partnership. Following the Troika meeting, and working lunch, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner will attend a meeting bringing together US and European companies to launch a U.S.-E.U. Energy Tech CEO Forum to intensify Trans-Atlantic energy technology development.

On the eve of the Troika meeting the Commissioner said: "The strategic partnership between the EU and the US continues to deepen. None of the great challenges of our day can be solved without the active engagement of both Europe and America. The building of a safer world - a peaceful Iraq, a nuclear-weapons free Iran, and a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict - requires us to work together not only for our own good, but for the good of the wider international community. I hope that our discussions at this meeting will help us maintain momentum towards greater stability in the world's most troubled regions".

She added: "The EU and the US are the world's major consumers of energy: together we make up 38% of world energy consumption - and we are responsible for 39% of the world's CO2 emissions. We need to build on the decision we took at our Summit in June last year to work together on energy efficiency, renewables, clean technologies, and nuclear safety and to advance principles of good practice in global energy markets. Together we can have a decisive impact on these questions!"

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/us/intro/index.htm

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• EU-US Summit - Washington, 30 April 2007 (30/4/2007)
• EU and US to sign up to transatlantic economic integration plan at Washington Summit on 30 April (27/4/2007)
• EU President Barroso to meet US President Bush at the White House on 8 January (5/1/2007)
• "The Transatlantic Relationship: A Balance Sheet" - Speech by EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner  (20/9/2006)
• EU-US Summit Declaration  (21/6/2006)