The crisis in Ukraine, global challenges such are security and stability, climate change, fighting terrorism or combating poverty will be on the agenda of the EU-US summit that will be held in Brussels on Wednesday, March 26.
The European Union will be represented by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. The United States of America will be represented by President Barack Obama.
“The EU-US Summit occupies a central place in our external relations. We share a unique and irreplaceable strategic partnership, and cooperate on practically every issue of concern to us. At a moment when the principles of international security and diplomatic engagement are challenged in Europe and the world, the cooperation between the European Union and the United States is of critical importance,” said Van Rompuy ahead of the meeting.
EU-US cooperation is of great importance in addressing the crisis in Ukraine, the EU said in a statement prior to the summit.
The Brussels summit will provide an opportunity to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine following measures both sides have taken decisions in response to actions by Russia in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and of international law, it said.
Developing responses to global challenges, the EU and the US cooperate in a vast array of areas including the promotion of global security and stability, dealing with climate change, stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons, fighting terrorism, combating poverty and improving health and food security around the world, the EU said.
“We have an excellent occasion to take stock of our relations, map the way ahead and highlight the strengths of the transatlantic relationship,” Barroso said .
“The Summit will highlight the significant contributions that the EU-US strategic partnership makes to transatlantic and global peace and prosperity, and will be an opportunity to support and promote our negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership,” he added.
In addition, the summit is expected to help restoring trust following the National Security Agency (NSA) revelations and ensure privacy and security.
Furthermore, the summit will be an opportunity for the two sides to provide high level political direction on jointly tackling global challenges including the economy, energy security, climate change, cyber security, Internet freedom, counterterrorism and non-proliferation to name a few. It also provides direction to and underpins strong foreign and security policy and development cooperation between the US and EU.
The EU said it would also bring the issue of five member states that are not covered by the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP). “Extending equal treatment to all the citizens of the EU is a fundamental step to strengthen the transatlantic partnership, enable business and people-to-people contacts, and implement the TTIP negotiations,” the EU said.
The EU and US have met at Summit level since 1995, when the New Transatlantic Agenda Declaration was adopted, setting out the basic goals of EU-US cooperation. The last Summit was held in on 28 November 2011 in Washington.
More info: http://eeas.europa.eu/statements/docs/2014/140324_01_en.pdf
