B4-0921, 0922, 0923, 0924, 0925 and 0927/97

Resolution on the New Transatlantic Agenda (EU-US relations)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the political declaration and joint action plan signed by the EU and the US in Madrid in December 1995,

- having regard to the outcome of the EU-US summits of 16 December 1996 and 28 May 1997 and the preceding reports of the group of high-ranking representatives,

- having regard to the third conference of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) held in Rome on 6 and 7 November 1997,

- having regard to the conclusions of the EU-US summit in the Hague,

- having regard to its resolutions on the negotiations between the Commission and the US Administration concerning the Helms-Burton Act,

- having regard to its resolutions on banning hormone-treated meat,

A. whereas the next EU-US summit meeting between the US President, the President of the Commission and the President of the European Council will take place in Washington on 5 December 1997,

B. whereas, until now, the transatlantic relationship has evolved in a practical way without having recourse to a contractual basis, such as a formal treaty, except in the field of security and defence (the North Atlantic Treaty),

C. whereas the US and the EU bear a particular responsibility, because of their economic power, to support the participation of the weaker countries in international fora and enable them to represent their interests,

D. whereas considerable progress has been made in developing the basis for joint actions of a political and economic nature under the New Transatlantic Agenda (NTA), in particular in the context of the TABD,

E. whereas a number of current issues (trade and investment, trade and financial services, competition, etc.) are due to be negotiated in the OECD and the WTO under the multilateral trading system in the near future; whereas the agreements negotiated must take adequate account of the interests of all Member States,

F. whereas the trend towards worldwide harmonization of trade rules should be aimed at raising standards and improving consumer protection and public information,

G. whereas the TABD is working on practical programmes and guidelines with considerable implications for the economy and consumers which must not be allowed to bypass the public and which call for timely parliamentary involvement,

H. whereas cooperation between the EU and the US should be based on common principles such as the promotion of peace and stability in the world, respect for human rights, a commitment to free and fair world trade as well as respect for the world trade order, the international fight against organized crime, terrorism and drug trafficking, and the concern to safeguard the environment and to establish sustainable social conditions and employment,

I. whereas different opinions persist where transatlantic commercial relations are concerned, in particular with regard to the extraterritorial effects of US legislation at both federal level (Helms-Burton and d'Amato Acts) and sub-federal level (Massachusetts Burma Act) or the findings of the WTO panels on hormone-treated beef and the EU banana regime,

1. Calls upon the Presidents of the Commission and the Council to bring to the Washington summit meeting proposals to set out a longer-term perspective for EU-US relations;

2. Takes the view that such 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 the establishment of a genuine European Union common foreign and security policy (CFSP) in order to arrive at a genuine partnership;

3. Considers that such a perspective should establish a comprehensive institutional treaty framework between the two partners, involving greater inter-parliamentary cooperation and including the concept of the New Transatlantic Marketplace, as proposed by President Santer in his inaugural speech to Parliament in 1995;

4. In this context, welcomes the positive contribution of the TABD toward the creation of the New Transatlantic Marketplace by identifying remaining non- tariff barriers to trade and by submitting their conclusions to the biannual EU-US summit;

5. Takes the view that the forthcoming negotiation of new agreements and administrative rules should be carefully monitored by the parliamentary bodies and should include the opinions of developing countries;

6. Proposes that the summit issue a statement on the principles governing the key issues arising from the rapid growth of electronic commerce;

7. Hopes that the summit can provide new impetus to the on-going process of eliminating non-tariff trade barriers and the convergence and harmonization of regulations;

8. Underscores its demand that Parliament be included in the process of the TABD-instigated Multilateral Recognition Agreements (MRAs);

9. Strongly supports efforts to deepen cooperation at grass-roots level as recommended by the Transatlantic Conference 'Bridging the Atlantic: People- to-People Links¨ held in Washington on 5-6 May 1997, particularly those related to electronics - Transatlantic Information Exchange (TIES), local linkages, the matching of non-governmental organizations, brokering new dialogue with respect to the civil society as well as pursuing the Transatlantic Labour Dialogue and establishing a Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue;

10. Suggests that the summit should set out how the concept of the New Transatlantic Marketplace should be explored, with a road map and timetable for its completion;

11. Rejects the application of the principle of extra-territoriality by the US Congress; asks that the existing differences of view on trade and investment matters (Helms-Burton and d'Amato Acts) be examined at the summit meeting with a view to their early resolution;

12. Considers that the fight against human rights violations throughout the world should be an important objective, that the major trading blocs have a responsibility in this respect, and that they have the means to ensure compliance with the relevant international conventions and to prompt the governments of other countries to improve their behaviour regarding human rights;

13. Welcomes the recognition of the need for closer transatlantic cooperation in competition and anti-trust issues between the EU competition authorities and the US Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission;

14. Calls for the undertakings concerning the Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas merger in the aviation sector to be honoured faithfully;

15. Calls upon the European Parliament's competent bodies and their US Congressional counterparts to seek, within the context of the NTA, ways to deepen cooperation on issues of common concern;

16. Welcomes recent measures in the joint fight against criminal organizations and in particular the agreement on controlling suspect shipments of substances used to process illegal drugs and the signature of the Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement;

17. Urges that further steps be taken on transatlantic cooperation in the area of justice and home affairs, in particular as regards cooperation between law enforcement agencies, combating the traffic in women, drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism;

18. Is of the opinion that the signature of the EU-US agreement on scientific and technological cooperation at the Washington summit is an important step along the road of NTA-inspired cooperation;

19. Demands that the issue of cultural and media pluralism be included on the agenda for the forthcoming summit;

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