31.5.2013   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 153/124

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having regard to its previous resolutions on transatlantic relations,

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having regard to Rule 110(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas, although many global challenges in the field of foreign policy, security, development and the environment call for joint action and transatlantic cooperation, the current economic crisis has leapt to the fore as the main challenge to be addressed today;

B.

whereas together the EU and the US account for half the global economy, and whereas their USD4,28 trillion partnership is the largest, most integrated and longest lasting economic relationship in the world and a key driver of global economic prosperity;

C.

whereas the ongoing financial and economic crises, both in Europe and in the United States, are threatening the stability and prosperity of our economies and the welfare of our citizens, and whereas the need for closer economic cooperation between Europe and the United States, in order to combat these crises, has never been more pressing;

D.

whereas the imperative of safeguarding freedom and security at home should not be met at the cost of sacrificing core principles relating to civil liberties and the need to uphold common standards on human rights;

E.

whereas the transatlantic partnership is founded on shared core values, such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and on common goals, such as social progress and inclusiveness, open and integrated economies, sustainable development and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and is the cornerstone of security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area;

1.

Welcomes the conclusions of the G20 Summit held in Cannes on 3-4 November 2011, in particular as regards the Action Plan for Growth and Jobs, reform to strengthen the international monetary system, continued efforts to improve financial regulation and commitments to boost multilateral trade and avoid protectionism; regards it as essential that at the EU-US Summit both partners should pledge to take a leading role in implementing the G20 commitments; notes the G20's discussion of a set of options for innovative financing and that the EU is continuing to develop the idea of a financial transaction tax;

2.

Calls on the EU and the US Administration to develop and launch a joint transatlantic initiative for jobs and growth, including a roadmap for promoting trade and investment;

3.

Calls for the EU and US to establish an early-warning mechanism to detect and deter protectionism in their bilateral relations; recalls the significance for transatlantic trade of open procurement markets that offer equal access to all suppliers, in particular to small and medium-sized businesses, and therefore calls on the USA to refrain from introducing any ‧Buy American‧ requirements; stresses the importance of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) in ensuring open and balanced access of this kind to both markets;

4.

Emphasises the need to strengthen the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) process in order to achieve these objectives, in particular the development of common standards for new areas requiring regulation, such as nanotechnology, or emerging economic sectors, such as electric vehicle technology; urges the EU and the US to involve the representatives of the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue (TLD) closely in the TEC, as legislators share with their respective executive branches responsibility for the implementation and oversight of many TEC decisions;

5.

Encourages EU-US exchanges of experience and best practice concerning ways of encouraging entrepreneurship, including through support for start-ups and the handling of bankruptcies;

6.

Emphasises the need to strengthen cooperation efforts in the framework of a research and innovation partnership;

7.

Stresses the need to adopt and implement an EU-US Raw Materials Roadmap to 2020 with a particular focus on rare earths, which should promote cooperation on resource efficiency, innovation in extraction and recycling technologies for raw materials, and research into substitution; calls for a transatlantic strategy to foster global governance relating to raw materials through cooperative endeavours such as an International Raw Materials Forum akin to the International Energy Forum;

8.

Emphasises the importance of cooperation in promoting energy efficiency, renewables and high nuclear safety standards worldwide, and welcomes the continued coordination of energy-efficient labelling programmes for office equipment and cooperation on the development of energy technologies;

9.

Calls on the Commission to push forward the negotiations with the US in the area of product safety, and welcomes the introduction of a legal basis which will enable the US Consumer Product Safety Committee to negotiate with the EU on an agreement to improve the exchange of information on dangerous products, injuries and corrective action taken both in the EU Member States and the US;

10.

Recalls that free and open democracies promote peace and stability and are the best guarantee of global security, and calls on the EU and the US to further step up cooperation to promote peace, in particular in the Middle East, and to support emerging democracies in North Africa;

11.

Urges the EU and US to push for a resumption of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in full compliance with international law, leading to a two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as capital of both states, with a secure State of Israel and an independent, democratic and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security; calls on the Member States and the US to address the legitimate demand of the Palestinians to be represented as a state at the United Nations as a result of negotiations within the UN framework;

12.

Calls, in particular, for an EU-US common initiative in order to persuade the Israeli Government to reverse its decision to speed up the construction of 2 000 units in the West Bank and to withhold the customs receipts it owes to the Palestinian National Authority as a response to the admission of Palestine to UNESCO;

13.

Strongly condemns the escalating use of force in Syria, and supports the efforts made by the US and the EU Member States in the UN Security Council to secure a resolution condemning and calling for an end to the use of lethal force by the Syrian regime and providing for sanctions should it fail to comply; welcomes the Arab League's suspension of Syria's membership, and welcomes the calls by King Abdullah of Jordan for President Bashar al-Assad to step down;

14.

Calls on both the EU and the US to continue to support the Libyan transitional authorities in all endeavours to build an inclusive and democratic society; emphasises, at the same time, that this support must be conditional on respect for human rights and the rule of law and political participation for all citizens, in particular women;

15.

Expresses deep concern at the allegations made in the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the progress made by Iran towards achieving the know-how necessary to design and construct a nuclear weapon; deplores the fact that Iran, despite repeatedly insisting that its nuclear programme is being conducted for peaceful, civilian energy-generation purposes only, has failed to cooperate fully with the IAEA; believes that the EU and the US should continue to work closely together and within the P5+1 to maintain strong pressure on Iran, using all political, diplomatic and economic means, including sanctions, in order to persuade it to meet its international non-proliferation obligations and to deter and contain the threats it poses to international security;

16.

Emphasises that together the EU and the US manage 90 % of global development assistance in the area of health and 80 % of overall aid; welcomes the re-launch of the EU-US Development Dialogue in September 2011, because there are only five years left to achieve the Millennium Development Goals;

17.

Calls on the EU and the US to push for action at the G20 to bring about greater global cooperation on tackling abusive food-price speculation and excessive fluctuations in global food prices; stresses that the G20 must involve non-G20 countries in order to ensure global convergence;

18.

Emphasises that the Summit should also be used to exchange points of view and strengthen coordination vis-à-vis third countries, in particular the BRICs;

19.

Emphasises that climate change is a global concern, and calls on the Commission to seek an ambitious US commitment to achieving progress at the forthcoming Durban Conference, with a view to ensuring that a detailed mandate is drawn up to conclude negotiations for a global comprehensive climate agreement by 2015; is concerned, in that connection, about Bill 2594, recently adopted by the US House of Representatives, which calls for a ban on US airlines taking part in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme; calls on the US Senate not to adopt this bill, and calls for a constructive dialogue on this topic;

20.

Calls on the EU-US Summit to take into account issues such as climate protection, resource scarcity and efficiency, energy security, innovation and competitiveness in discussions on the economy; reiterates that internationally coordinated action helps to address the carbon-leakage concerns of relevant sectors, in particular energy-intensive sectors;

21.

Recognises that all flows of passengers and goods in the transatlantic area should be subject to proper and proportional security measures;

22.

Calls, in that connection, on the US to move away from broad general restrictions, such as 100 % container scanning or the banning of liquids on-board aircraft, towards more targeted and risk-based approaches, such as secure operator schemes and the scanning of liquids;

23.

Welcomes, in that connection, the opening in March 2011 of negotiations on the EU-US agreement on the protection of personal data; notes the Commission's announcement of the conclusion of the negotiations of an EU-US Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreement, which will be scrutinised by Parliament in the light of the requirements set out in its resolutions of 5 May 2010 (1) and 11 November 2010 (2);

24.

Emphasises the importance of the sound implementation of the EU-US agreements on extradition and mutual legal assistance and the related bilateral instruments;

25.

Reiterates its view that the EU must continue to raise with the US, both at political and technical level, the issue of the importance it attaches to the admission of the four remaining EU Member States to the visa-waiver programme as soon as possible;

26.

Stresses the need to protect the integrity of the global internet and freedom of communication by refraining from unilateral measures to revoke IP addresses or domain names;

27.

Takes into account the concrete proposals of different European Parliament Committees and asks the European Parliament delegation to the TLD to make use of their input;

28.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the US Congress, the co-chairs of the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue and the co-chairs and secretariat of the Transatlantic Economic Council.