14 June 2001

Highlights of U.S.-EU Cooperation under New Transatlantic Agenda

At their summit meeting in Goteborg, Sweden, June 14, the United States and the European Union outlined their cooperative efforts during the past six months and pledged to continue this cooperation.

Among the highlights cited were: assistance to Russia in implementing its non-proliferation and disarmament commitments; the signing of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; and the initialing of a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on marine equipment. The document also discussed U.S.-EU cooperation regarding Cyprus, the Balkans, Africa, communicable diseases, trafficking in small arms, and other issues.

Following is the text of the document, issued jointly by the United States and the European Union:

Goteborg, Sweden
June 14, 2001
Highlights Of U.S.-EU Cooperation Under The New Transatlantic Agenda

During the Swedish presidency, we have acted together under the New Transatlantic Agenda (NTA) to promote peace, stability, democracy and development, respond to global challenges, expand world trade, develop closer economic relations, and build bridges across the Atlantic. We will continue this cooperation under the Belgian Presidency and, in order to achieve greater results, we have decided to focus on the limited number of strategic themes and immediate priorities agreed in the Goteborg Summit Statement today.

As reflected in our Statement, we are cooperating closely to promote peace and stability in South East Europe. We will work closely together to make the Stability Pact Second Regional Conference in October in Bucharest a success.

We are also closely cooperating to further the process of reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula and to pave the way for a resumption of peace talks in the Middle East. Both sides have reaffirmed their continuing support for the peace process in Colombia.

We have worked together more intensively in the Baltic States and Northwest Russia, within the frameworks of the EU Northern Dimension and the U.S. Northern Europe Initiative. Specifically, we have identified a number of cooperative activities to undertake in the field of the environment in the coming months, focusing on watershed management, the impact, control and eradication of invasive species, and enforcement/compliance. We are continuing to explore further cooperation in the areas of law enforcement, public health and strengthening civil society.

We have assisted Russia in implementing its non-proliferation and disarmament commitments, particularly regarding weapons-grade plutonium and increased international funding for chemical weapons destruction programs, such as Shchuchye. The March Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Cooperation Initiative conference, held in Brussels, allowed further progress in donor coordination with Russia and other Newly Independent States (NIS), and noted the specific role of the International Science and Technology Center. We are cooperating closely to reach an agreement with Russia on the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR).

We have actively supported the efforts of the UN Secretary General to achieve a comprehensive settlement on Cyprus consistent with relevant UNSC resolutions. We urge renewed effort by the parties to reach a comprehensive settlement and a prompt restart of talks under the good offices of the Secretary General.

We will continue our cooperation in Africa, in addition to confronting the spread of communicable diseases. In Central Africa, we will support negotiated settlement of the conflicts and national reconciliation, and help establish with international organizations an action plan for peace and development in the region. We will support the peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea on the basis of the Algiers Agreement, to which we have effectively contributed.

We have worked to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction delivery systems. We reaffirm our support for strong non-proliferation and export control regimes, international arms control and disarmament measures.

As agreed at our December 2000 Summit, the U.S. and EU are developing a draft international arms exports declaration, with a view to initiating a process of broader international participation in the final development of this instrument. We confirm the importance of combating destabilizing accumulations and uncontrolled spread of small arms and light weapons. In this context, we agree that this year's UN Conference on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects should provide a new impetus for collective action on this front. We commit to a successful outcome of this Conference.

We continue to attach high priority to promoting respect for human rights, rule of law, and democracy. We reaffirm the importance of close U.S.-EU coordination and cooperation to furthering our mutual goals in this area. We will work together to help make the World Conference Against Racism and the UNGA Special Session on Children forward-looking, constructive and action-oriented.

We are committed to strengthening and revitalizing the United Nations, and to pursuing the improvement of the financial situation of the Organization on the basis of the reform of the scales of assessment adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2000.

Conscious of their importance for our bilateral relationship, we confirm our commitment to honor and fully implement the various understandings and agreements reached at the 18 May 1998 London Summit.

We signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. We support universal ratification of this Convention, as well as of the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal. We are already acting in the spirit of these conventions and, with respect to the Basel Convention, note the U.S. firm intention to seek ratification. We will work together to promote a forward-looking World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002. Environmental health threats, especially against children, and environmental crime are areas of particular concern to us.

We are committed to continuing work on the full range of issues of concern on biotechnology, including addressing regulatory issues and market access, and identification of subjects raised in the Consultative Forum report on which the two sides would like to work.

We have cooperated on Justice and Home Affairs, combating child pornography on the Internet, supporting the expansion of the 24-hour contact point network, enhancing understanding for each other's system for data protection, and encouraging third countries in their efforts to combat organized crime and consolidate a society based on the rule of law. We jointly sponsored a resolution at the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs to facilitate international monitoring of chemical products used in the manufacture of "ecstasy" and other illicit synthetic drugs.

We have agreed to share information, research and best practices on asylum, resettlement, and rehabilitation programs for traumatized refugees, prevention and combating illegal immigration, integration practices and responses to situations of mass influxes of refugees and displaced persons.

We have initiated a U.S.-EU dialogue in the field of good governance and combating corruption, and will continue to explore areas where transatlantic cooperation could provide added value to ongoing work in international organizations.

We continued our close cooperation on Information Society issues. We have reviewed regulatory developments for electronic communications in an era of technological convergence, discussed respective initiatives on critical infrastructure, network security and electronic signature, and reviewed progress on e-confidence and alternative dispute resolution. We exchanged ideas on ways to measure better the digital economy. We discussed the internationalization of the organization and management of the Internet infrastructure. We have identified boosting consumer confidence, facilitating access to the Internet for the disabled and deepening e-government, including linking U.S. and EU government websites, as priority areas for joint cooperation.

We have consulted within the framework of the Transatlantic Economic Partnership (TEP) to avoid the development of disputes and stress the importance of the consistent use of the Early Warning Mechanism. Also under the TEP, we have initialed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on marine equipment, which will allow U.S. and EU products to be certified to their respective domestic technical regulations for approval in both the U.S. and EU markets. We continued discussions with regard to mutual recognition and regulatory cooperation in other sectors. In addition, we reaffirmed our commitment to making the 1998 MRA fully operational as soon as possible, in particular with regard to the annexes on Electrical Safety, Pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practices and Medical Devices.

We have continued to strengthen our science and technology cooperation and increased the opportunities for scientists on both sides of the Atlantic. Recognizing the importance of developing clean and secure energy, including alternative sources, we have signed an implementing arrangement on non-nuclear energy research and have renewed our nuclear fusion agreement.

We have continued to consult on issues of interest to consumers.

We participated in discussions with consumer organizations on a range of issues at the 4th conference of the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), and in the Transatlantic Business Dialogue's (TABD) mid-year meeting. In the next six months, we will further promote dialogue between different sectors of society. In particular, we will continue our interaction with the TACD and will participate in the annual Transatlantic Business Dialogue CEO conference. We support the Transatlantic Environment Dialogue and the Transatlantic Labor Dialogue in their efforts to rejuvenate their activities. We look forward to receiving recommendations from all the dialogues on key issues of joint concern as well as their input in shaping the agenda for our future discussions. We welcome efforts to strengthen the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue.