Transatlantic relations: time to relaunch EU cooperation with the United States
Statement by leading MEPs on the new EU-US agenda.
“We welcome the new EU-US agenda outlined on 2 December 2020 in the Joint Communication by the European Commission and the High Representative. We commend its timing and its lists of practical first steps in a wide range of fields, and value the agenda’s proactive and ambitious nature. Most of all, the new agenda is an indispensable tool to relaunch and advance transatlantic cooperation for the mutual benefit of the EU and the US and of the global rules-based multilateral system.
As parliamentarians, we are ready to play our part in forging this broad agenda, both by scrutinising its implementation and underpinning its work with the necessary legislation. A large part of our contribution will come from engaging with our direct counterparts in the United States Congress, through the Transatlantic Legislators‘ Dialogue and our specialised committee-to-committee interactions. Our parliamentary diplomacy will ensure that we advance jointly on both sides of the Atlantic to make a meaningful difference to our citizens. Here, let us also highlight the importance of enhancing EU-US citizen-to-citizen contact, via our schools, universities, think tanks, businesses and civil society, for the long-term success of our shared agenda.
The Joint Communication rightly begins with measures on the global health emergency, the need to coordinate our economic recoveries and the green transition that needs to be achieved through trade and technological cooperation. With regard to foreign policy, we are particularly pleased to see the emphasis placed on the importance of defending democracy and human rights, the fight against authoritarianism, the establishment of a new Security and Defence Dialogue, as well as ideas for closer coordination in many geopolitical arenas.
The European Parliament shares this positive outlook on EU-US relations and looks forward to bringing this vision to life.”
The statement is co-signed by:
Mr David McAllister (EPP, Germany), Chair of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee;
Mr Radosław Sikorski (EPP, Poland), Chair of Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the United States;
Mr Tonino Picula (S&D, Croatia), Standing Rapporteur for the United States in the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
More information
Members on the Foreign Affairs Committee organised a public hearing on the future of transatlantic relations on Thursday, 3 December.
The discussion took place in the presence of Ambassador Philip T. Reeker (Head of the Bureau of European and Eurasia Affairs, United States Department of State), Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger (Chairman of the Munich Conference on Security Policy), Dr Karen Donfried (President of the German Marshall Fund) and Mr Bryan Glynn (Managing director for Americas at the European External Action Service).
Watch it again here.