Europe and US move towards partnership

Date: 30/11/1995

THIS time last year, Europeans were expressing doubts as to whether their close ties with the United States were beginning to unravel.

New American legislators were perceived to be isolationist, Europeans were preoccupied with their unemployment and single currency battles, and both sides disagreed on tactics in former Yugoslavia.

Yet this Sunday (3 December), US President Bill Clinton, Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, and European Commission President Jacques Santer will announce a 120-point action plan that tightens transatlantic ties on everything from Bosnia to product standards to collaboration on a malaria vaccination.

With that plan, the two partners will move from a consultative relationship to a genuine partnership, says US Ambassador to the EU Stuart Eizenstat, adding: “I have really been amazed. The energy has been staggering.”

The most visible work of the four months' preparation for the 3 December EU-US summit in Madrid has been devoted to improving trading conditions by bringing European and American rules closer together in areas such as regulation, standards, procurement law, investment conditions and protection, even currency fluctuations.

“The centre-piece is what we're calling a new transatlantic partnership, in which our goal is to reduce barriers that hinder the flow of goods, services and capital,” said Eizenstat.

Teams of high-powered business executives have raised the profile of the trade component of transatlantic relations, offering concrete suggestions which have been inserted into the summit declaration.

But one idea that will not be announced is that of a Transatlantic Free Trade Area, or TAFTA. “There were many who said a free-trade agreement was going to be the make or break of this thing. That was never the case on either side. It was never given serious consideration,” said Eizenstat, explaining that farmers opposed it and business did not ask for it either.

A proposal to conduct a joint study of the possible benefits of a TAFTA has even been diluted in the draft declaration to a “study on ways to facilitate trade in goods and services and further reducing or eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers”.

Instead, both sides pledge to work towards “contributing to the expansion of world trade”, and to consolidating the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

While the trade and business sections do comprise half of the 20-page draft declaration, they follow lengthy passages of proposed policy initiatives. The most prominent chapter is devoted to shared foreign policy, cooperating in distributing development aid, encouraging human rights in questionable regimes and reducing arms proliferation. Another outlines joint action in fighting terrorism and setting immigration policy.

Gonzalez and Clinton will also discuss how to work together in Bosnia, not only in the peace implementation plan, but also on housing refugees and setting up a war crimes tribunal.

The two powers will try to strengthen the Middle East peace process by providing Palestinian products with greater access to both EU and US markets and making their economic aid to Palestinians more efficient.

They will also seek to strengthen cooperation on fighting crime and drug trafficking. Slow progress in finalising Europol has thwarted joint efforts, but Eizenstat said: “We've been able to take a really great leap forward”, with improved extradition accords, asset seizure, exchanging crime fighting techniques and even joint training of law enforcement officials in Central and Eastern Europe to stem the rise of the Mafia there.

Cooperation with the EU will extend “right down to lowest level” in all US government agencies and will be followed up with twice-yearly meetings of top officials to ensure the plans are implemented.

All this marks a big step forward since the two sides fought over the Uruguay Round GATT agreement.

Eizenstat said the joint efforts will “create a kind of vision, direction and agenda which will harness our mutual energies in ways which will silence any fears that we are going to have an atrophy in the relationship”.