A4-0410/97

Resolution on the Commission communication on Europe and the United States: the way forward (COM(95)0411 - C4-0411/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(95)0411 - C4-0411/95),

- having regard to the political declaration and the EU-US Joint Action Plan which were signed in Madrid in December 1995,

- having regard to the EU-US summit of 5 December 1997,

- having regard to its resolution of 20 November 1997 on the New Transatlantic Agenda (EU-US relations) ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 4.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy and the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0410/97),

A. recalling the importance of the common values shared by the European Union, its Member States and the United States, particularly with regard to fundamental freedoms and respect for the rules of democracy,

B. whereas relations between the European Union and the United States are destined to enter a new phase, following the disappearance of the bipolar world which characterized the cold war period,

C. pointing out that Euro-American relations must develop along balanced lines and make a major contribution to the strengthening of international institutions and the establishment of a new international order which is acceptable to all,

D. convinced that the new international environment calls for action to seek renewal of the areas, objectives and methods of transatlantic cooperation,

E. convinced of the need to develop enhanced cooperation in those areas which are emerging as new security priorities and which harbour threats to peace affecting both the United States and the countries of Europe,

F. deeming it opportune to draw up, within the joint cooperation forums, a detailed list of the new priority areas in which Europeans and Americans might benefit mutually from enhanced cooperation, such as terrorism, large- scale organized crime, drug-trafficking, money-laundering, illegal immigration, the development of mafia networks and the spread of nuclear weapons,

G. convinced of the need to continue and strengthen cooperation in various areas of external action where there is a manifest common interest, such as reform of the United Nations, as favoured by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the continuation of development aid, the promotion of democracy and human rights, including the general principle of abolition of the death penalty, peace-keeping operations and the development of effective means of preventive diplomacy within the existing international organizations,

H. pointing out that new possibilities for EU-US cooperation are opening up in the northern regions; the US and three EU Member States are amongst the founders of the Arctic Council, and the European Council recently asked the Commission to draft in 1998 a report on the northern dimension of EU policies,

I. whereas, in this respect, despite the lack of a real CFSP, the external actions of the EU have proved to be more effective when carried out in collaboration with the United States, with regard in particular to the management of the crises in former Yugoslavia and in the Middle East; whereas enhanced and balanced cooperation between the EU and the United States can help achieve lasting solutions to crises which concern both parties,

J. pointing out the importance of relations between Europe and the United States where defence is concerned, stressing the essential role played by the Atlantic Alliance during the cold war period, but now deeming it necessary, in the new international environment, to develop more of a European security and defence identity, which the United States itself is calling for,

K. regretting, however, the unilateral way in which the question of choosing the new members of NATO was handled, and also the lack of any practical follow-up to date to the resolutions of the Berlin Atlantic Council concerning the establishment of a European defence body under remodelled Atlantic structures,

L. regretting the fact that the United States Government, unlike almost all EU governments, is unwilling to sign the 1997 Ottawa Convention on the banning of landmines and their destruction, given the destructive effect of these mines demonstrated every day in former Yugoslavia,

M. also regretting the fact that the United States Congress so far seems unwilling to honour its commitment to the United Nations by refusing to pay its dues, thereby weakening its own credibility as well as the financial basis of the UN,

N. stressing the urgent need to give real substance at last to the concept of 'European pillar' of the Alliance in a new continental context which demands that the countries of Europe have available, in the event of a crisis, their own military means of intervention, independently of the stance adopted by the United States,

O. deploring the fact that, where international trade is concerned, despite the multilateral commitments that it has entered into, particularly within the WTO, the United States arrogates to itself the right to apply its national legislation extraterritorially, and also the right to impose international sanctions unilaterally, thus seriously affecting transatlantic cooperation,

1. Welcomes the Commission communication, the New Transatlantic Agenda and the joint EU/US action plan as valuable instruments in strengthening the ever- important transatlantic relations and hopes that even more positive results can be obtained from these initiatives;

2. Takes the view that the strengthening of relations between Europe and the United States remains an essential factor for the stability of the international community, but that such strengthening must be preceded by a rebalancing of relations in order to arrive at a genuine partnership;

3. Is in favour of the development of joint initiatives in the international sphere, provided that they respect the balance between the partners and that, in particular, the European Union and the Member States are not associated with them solely as paymasters and on condition that the initiatives concerned take account of the justifiable interests of all EU states when they concern regions in close proximity to the European Union;

4. Wishes to see the strengthening and deepening of dialogue and cooperation in a number of priority areas which constitute new challenges to international stability, especially the fight against terrorism and large- scale organized crime, global environmental issues, trafficking in drugs and fissile material, trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children, and illegal immigration, all of which are developing to a worrying extent owing also to the opening-up of borders, the deregulation of international trade and the liberalization of capital movements;

5. Considers that environmental protection and realistic preventive measures to tackle global climate change, together with nuclear safety and the fight against nuclear proliferation, are likewise natural areas for cooperation between the United States and the European Union, where joint initiatives are likely to be successful at a level embracing the international community as a whole;

6. Regrets, in this respect, the backward-looking approach of the USA with regard to climate change at the Kyoto Conference as well as its attitude concerning furs from animals caught with leghold traps;

7. Calls on the Union, its Member States and the US to promote cooperation to develop the Arctic and other northern regions in the framework of the Arctic Council, and the northern dimension of EU policies;

8. Calls for enhanced Euro-American cooperation in particular within international institutions regarding the management of crisis situations and the deployment of peacekeeping forces in sensitive areas; the inclusion of Petersberg tasks will enable the WEU to play a significant role in such circumstances; Euro-American assistance might likewise facilitate the establishment of regional peacekeeping forces, as has begun to happen in Africa;

9. Calls on the Commission and the Council to introduce in the transatlantic agenda the international treaty banning landmines adopted in Ottawa, urging the USA to sign it so as not to miss a historic opportunity for the consolidation of peace and disarmament;

10. Stresses that public health and consumer protection are matters to which a uniform approach is needed and that, consequently, both the EU and the United States have a right and a duty to provide an appropriate level of protection against risks the existence of which has been demonstrated scientifically;

11. Calls on the Union, the Member States and the United States to maintain and coordinate their efforts regarding public-sector development aid, with the aim of ensuring the most rational use of the funds channelled into such aid by both parties; considers that the transatlantic dialogue should also make it possible to increase the awareness of American congressmen and senators to the negative effects that certain trade initiatives, such as the complaint to the WTO about the common organization of the market in bananas, may have on development;

12. Believes that the institutional arrangements of the New Transatlantic Agenda need to be strengthened to be able to deal effectively with the vast number of issues to be covered in the dialogue;

13. Calls on the Commission, with a view to encouraging the development of less asymmetrical relations, to defend European interests in the sphere of external trade relations clearly, firmly and vigilantly, taking care in particular, when negotiating with the United States, to ensure the strict reciprocity of concessions, symmetry in the granting of advantages and the globalization (linkage) of negotiations, especially with regard to WTO panels;

14. Requests the Commission once again to ensure democratic openness in its handling of trade negotiations with the US, keeping Parliament informed of the guidelines it intends to follow, with particular reference to the negotiations on the multilateral agreement on investment;

15. Condemns the desire to make certain US legislation, such as the Helms- Burton and D'Amato-Kennedy Acts, apply extraterritorially, which is in total contradiction with the international commitments entered into by the United States, and hopes that the transatlantic dialogue will not shrink from tackling such delicate issues quite frankly, and will not restrict itself to agreed topics where a consensus can easily be achieved;

16. Notes that the recent avoidable increase in trade disputes between Europe and the United States (the Helms-Burton and D'Amato-Kennedy Acts, the McDonnell-Boeing merger and exclusive contracts, the gas contract with Iran, etc.) shows the need for the Europeans to have legal mechanisms identical to those of the US, with the aim of reaching compromises which genuinely take account of European concerns and interests;

17. Calls on the transatlantic cooperation forums to consider the question of the extraterritorial restrictions on trade and investment which have been enacted by individual States or local authorities, so as to prevent the spread of decisions such as that taken by the State of Massachusetts concerning Burma and, in general terms, to ensure that the dismantling of general protection measures (e.g. the Buy American Act) is indeed accompanied in each sector by the effective disappearance of barriers to trade;

18. Calls on the United States to consider prohibiting the death penalty as an extension of the sphere of fundamental rights and therefore urges it to abolish capital punishment definitively;

19. Calls on the Commission to monitor particularly closely developments concerning NAFTA and the proposal to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), discussions on which will resume in Santiago in April 1998, in the light of their implications for European trade interests, in order to safeguard, in particular, the close economic and cultural ties that the Member States of the Union have with the countries of Latin America;

20. Considers it therefore appropriate to address relations with Latin America also in the framework of the New Transatlantic Agenda between the EU and the US;

21. Calls on the Commission to investigate the possibility of enhancing the EU presence on a permanent footing in parts of the United States, especially California and the west coast, to monitor and follow closely developments in the hi-tech and audiovisual fields, given the asymmetrical relationship between the EU and US in these areas;

22. Strongly condemns the extraterritorial effects of the Helms-Burton and D'Amato-Kennedy Acts and supports the WTO appeals procedure opened by the EU; if the 'settlement' reached by the EU and the US on 11 April 1997 fails to lead to a solution, the EU will have to fall back on the WTO panel procedure;

23. Calls on its own competent bodies, the national parliaments of the Member States and the US Congress to make the most of their various channels of communication and opportunities for meeting to work to prevent Euro- American crises, notably by explaining to American congressmen and senators that the same political objectives (e.g. the fight against state terrorism or the defence of human rights) can be pursued by different and equally legitimate means (a tough sanctions policy or a cooperation policy compelling the target to behave more transparently);

24. Calls on the EU and the US to make every effort to coordinate their policies and their external action and policies in order to promote democracy and the rule of law, thus avoiding unfair competition at the expense of human rights;

25. Calls on the EU and the US to coordinate their policies with respect to arms export controls on the basis of agreed criteria to avoid unwanted undermining of restraint with respect to export, and to stimulate separate US and EU initiatives to further this aim; believes that this issue should also form part of the New Transatlantic Agenda;

26. Points out that one of the essential factors which are likely to help strengthen Euro-American cooperation is the active involvement in the transatlantic dialogue of representatives of the business world, who may make a significant contribution upstream of the work of the negotiators; they should therefore be involved in defining the subjects for debate, which could thus deal with the real problems that exist regarding market access;

27. Considers that the close involvement of such business circles, which is provided for by the cooperation mechanisms, will also be able to help defuse crises and steer cooperation towards practical solutions which will help remove regulatory obstacles to trade and investment, and will also be able to propose convergent measures vis-à-vis third countries, such as access to the Japanese market, the protection of intellectual property in China and respect for basic social and environmental standards;

28. Urges the EU to make clear to the US representatives that health standards and consumer protection can in no way be disregarded and that, therefore, more stringent rules on genetic engineering and the ban on imports of hormone-treated beef must be duly applied;

29. Welcomes the conclusion of the agreements concerning the New Transatlantic Agenda and the Joint Action Plan, and hopes that these two institutional frameworks will allow the development of wider cooperation and deeper dialogue between Europeans and Americans and will contribute to the renewal of the transatlantic link which, in an international environment which has been radically changed by the collapse of communism, must continue in future to be an essential factor contributing to peace and international stability;

30. Considers that such a perspective should lead to the establishment of a comprehensive institutional framework between the two partners, involving greater inter-parliamentary cooperation and including the concept of the new transatlantic market-place, as proposed by Commission President Santer in his inaugural speech to Parliament in 1995;

31. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Government and Congress of the United States.