| Author (Person) | Spinant, Dana |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.24, 26.6.03, p1 |
| Publication Date | 26/06/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
|
Date: 26/06/03 By Dana Spinant TOP American and European officials have heralded the EU-US summit that took place in Washington yesterday (25 June) as a "reinvigorating" event for the transatlantic relationship. An EU diplomat close to the talks said the summit unveiled a change in George W. Bush's attitude towards Europe: the US president showed great interest in the evolutions taking place in Europe, including the drafting of a constitution and of a security strategy. Doug Bereuter, head of the Europe sub-committee in the US Congress, said that "if not a new start, the summit was at least reinvigorating" for relations between Europe and America. Speaking exclusively to European Voice, Bereuter said the meeting between EU and US leaders has been an in-depth and sincere debate about where the two blocs stand. This summit, the first after the war in Iraq which bitterly divided the United States and its European allies, showed that the two "have enough in common" to avoid past splits, he said. The congressman announced that EU and US parliamentarians will work closely together in the future to coordinate their positions before adopting laws, so as to prevent future clashes. A pre-summit meeting on Capitol Hill, attended by European Parliament President Pat Cox, pledged to increase links between Congress and Parliament. "We hope to use modern technologies, like video conferences, to communicate with European Parliament's committees and also with EU states' parliaments, on issues of mutual interest. That would enable us to coordinate our views before adopting regulations, and avoid crises," he said. Bereuter welcomed the "likely annualization" of EU-US summits, as well as the increased frequency of parliamentarians' meetings, which will put the transatlantic relations back on track. A top EU diplomat confirmed the meeting between Europe's and America's leaders has been held in a "very friendly and welcoming atmosphere". "President Bush has shown a great interest in Europe. He was well prepared, he was obviously very well briefed by his entourage. He asked many questions about the present constitutional process in Europe, about the drafting of a European security strategy and about enlargement. He seemed to be in a mood to want to understand the position of the other side, and find a way to work together." Bereuter hailed the landmark decisions taken at the Washington summit and said the signing of a mutual legal assistance and extradition deal was "very impressive". He said Europe and America have "communication and structural problems", but added that the rows are "not caused by the Bush administration". The congressman denied that Washington tried to split Europe: "The EU has done a good job in doing that itself, with a couple of its leaders," Bereuter added, referring to French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. The congressman deplored that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's comments on old Europe/new Europe, which have been forgotten in the United States, have been repeated "again and again in the EU". "They probably struck a nerve," he added. An official from the European Commission's delegation in Washington said President Bush had shown interest in the speech Commission chief Romano Prodi was about to give in Philadelphia. "Bush was struck by the symbolism of the fact that Mr Prodi was to give a speech on the creation of a European constitution", in the city linked to the birth of the American constitution, he added. |
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