EU-US Summit Joint Statement

Lisbon, Portugal, November 20, 2010

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- We, the leaders of the European Union and the United States, met today in Lisbon to re-affirm our close partnership. Our shared values and political experience and our deep economic interdependence constitute an extraordinary resource. As we both face new challenges, we want our partnership to bring greater prosperity and security to our 800 million citizens on the two sides of the Atlantic.

Today we focused our discussions on three key areas of cooperation that are of vital interest to our citizens: first, how to ensure strong, balanced and sustainable economic growth and how to create jobs, including in new, emerging fields; second, how to meet global challenges such as climate change and international development; and third, how to strengthen the security of our citizens.

On the economy, we discussed the results of the G20 Summit in Seoul, and the contribution the European Union and the United States can make to securing a sustainable and balanced recovery, including through fiscal consolidation where necessary, and to creating jobs through structural and financial market reform.

We reaffirmed our commitment and encouraged our G20 partners to promote balanced growth, to pursue policies that avoid unsustainable imbalances and to avoid competitive devaluation or exchange rate policies that do not reflect underlying economic fundamentals. We highlighted our commitment to reject protectionism as a response to the challenges our economies face. We reiterated our strong commitment to direct our negotiators to engage in across-the-board negotiations to promptly bring the Doha Development Agenda to a successful, ambitious, comprehensive and balanced conclusion. We recognized that 2011 is a critical window of opportunity and that engagement among all negotiators must intensify and expand to complete an agreement that will expand trade and open markets. We also agreed to coordinate efforts to encourage emerging economies to assume responsibilities and adopt policies commensurate with their growing economic strength and role in areas such as trade, protection of intellectual property, regulation, and investment policy.

We underlined our conviction that we have not yet fully tapped the potential of transatlantic commerce to boost our growth and generate jobs on both sides of the Atlantic in the coming years, and to strengthen our economies for the competitive challenges of the future. We agreed that the most effective way to achieve these aims is to promote innovation, streamline regulation, and eliminate barriers to trade and investment, bringing benefits to business, workers, and consumers in both markets. We recognized the central role of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) in achieving these objectives, as well as facilitating coordinated approaches to other markets on such issues. We tasked the TEC to develop a transatlantic agenda to stimulate growth and create jobs in key emerging sectors and technologies. We have also asked the TEC to identify ways to improve transatlantic consultation before regulators and agencies develop regulation in economically promising new technologies and sectors, to share best practices, and to develop joint principles with the aim of promoting maximum compatibility of regulations and the freest possible transatlantic flow of ideas, products, and services. We expect the TEC to report on progress in these areas in 2011. In addition, and in order to boost the agenda of green jobs and growth, we tasked the EU-U.S. Energy Council to enhance cooperation on the development and deployment of clean energy technologies. We also tasked it to report by June 2011 on what it has done to accelerate exchanges of information and scientific personnel, to form alliances among our premier energy technology research bodies, and to facilitate participation by qualified researchers in each other's energy research. We encouraged the EU-U.S. Energy Council to continue to promote energy security by fostering transparent and efficient energy markets, including the diversification of supply sources and routes.

On climate change, we emphasized that we stand by the commitments we made in Copenhagen last December, including to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We agreed to promote a positive outcome at the Cancun conference that includes progress on all core elements contained in the Copenhagen Accord, including mitigation, transparency, finance, adaptation, technology, and forests. We will continue working closely together in all relevant fora, in particular the UN Framework Convention and the Major Economies Forum, to ensure that the comprehensive global framework we are working towards includes robust and transparent emissions reduction commitments by all major economies.

We reaffirmed our commitment to collaboration and coordinated action on development, recognizing that our goals and objectives are aligned as never before. We pledged to continue and strengthen cooperation on food security, climate change and the Millennium Development Goals, including health. As the world's two leading donors of development assistance, we must maximize the effectiveness and impact of our aid and avoid duplication of effort. We therefore tasked the EU-U.S. Dialogue on Development to produce a work plan for improved in-country cooperation on aid effectiveness with a focus on division of labor, transparency, and accountability, and to begin implementation in a number of mutually agreed countries under partner country leadership, ahead of the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in November 2011.

Recognizing the need to frame and implement integrated strategies on security and development, we reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen our collaboration in this area, covering conflict prevention, crisis response, and long-term development. We agreed on the need to confront major international issues and global challenges with a more comprehensive and strategic approach, and in a more concerted manner. In this regard, we welcomed the agreement in NATO's Strategic Concept on further strengthening the EUNATO strategic partnership, and we reaffirmed our commitment to enhance EU-NATO cooperation in crisis management in the spirit of mutual reinforcement and with respect for their decision-making autonomy.

We also welcomed our deepening partnership on a wide range of trans-national security issues that affect the citizens of the European Union and the United States. This partnership is founded on our conviction that respect for fundamental rights and freedoms and joint efforts to strengthen security cooperation are mutually reinforcing. We agreed to work together to tackle new threats to the global networks upon which the security and prosperity of our free societies increasingly depend. Recognizing this, as well as the growing challenge of cyber-security and cyber-crime, we established an EU-U.S. Working Group on Cyber-security and Cybercrime, which will address a number of specific priority areas and will report progress within a year. We welcomed the successful negotiation earlier this year of an agreement on the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme. We aim to facilitate transatlantic travel for our citizens while pursuing the vital task of maintaining security, and now look forward to making good progress in our forthcoming negotiations on a Passenger Name Record agreement. We welcomed the inclusion of an additional EU Member State in the Visa Waiver Programme earlier this year, and we reaffirmed our desire to complete secure visa-free travel between the United States and the European Union as soon as possible. We will also continue our work towards negotiating a comprehensive agreement on data protection. We are also committed to extending our partnership on countering violent extremism, in particular by sharing research and good practice and by enhancing co-operation on assistance to third countries at risk. In this regard, we aim to deepen our cooperation with Yemen to help it develop its institutions and capabilities to cope with the challenges it faces, including violent extremism.

Finally, we also discussed our common efforts to promote security more broadly around the world, including the fight against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, our joint efforts to support direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the aim of forging the framework of a final agreement within a year, to support the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, to seek engagement with Iran while maintaining pressure via sanctions, and to support stability in Afghanistan. We are working together with Pakistan's civilian government to help expand trade ties, bolster economic development, and combat violent extremism. We underlined the need for peace and stability in Sudan and will work to ensure that the upcoming referenda reflect the will of the populations concerned.

For further information, please visit: http://www.eurunion.org

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States