Press Release: VP Verheugen chairs first meeting of Transatlantic Economic Council on 9th November

The Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) will meet in Washington D.C. on 9 November 2007. The TEC aims to strengthen joint EU/American action on reducing regulatory barriers to trade, protecting intellectual property rights, ensuring secure trade, integrating financial markets, promoting innovation and technology and encouraging investment. The TEC was created by EU and US leaders to foster transatlantic economic integration at the EU/US Summit in Washington in April 2007. The forthcoming meeting in Washington will be jointly chaired by European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen and Allan Hubbard, National Economic Council Director based in the White House. Vice-President Verheugen will lead a high-level delegation including Portuguese minister for Economy and Trade Manuel Pinho, Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva and Taxation and Customs Union Commissioner Laszlo Kovács.

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