The EESC’s Transatlantic Relations Follow-up Committee met to discuss two current and timely topics with the aim of strengthening the EU-US partnership on a global scene, particularly important in the current challenging international context: the state of play of the transatlantic trade policy and the Year of Action between the two Summits for Democracy.
Relaciones transatlánticas
La UE, los EE. UU. y Canadá comparten los valores de la democracia, los derechos humanos, la libertad económica y política y se ocupan de cuestiones comunes en materia de política exterior y seguridad. Los EE. UU. y Canadá constituyen dos de los principales socios comerciales de la UE, y son también socios en la conformación del ordenamiento jurídico internacional. Las relaciones transatlánticas actuales tienen lugar en un nuevo entorno y se enfrentan a retos cada vez mayores. Consideramos que la participación de la sociedad civil en esta relación proporciona una garantía de que las relaciones transatlánticas son capaces de responder a las expectativas públicas y contribuir eficazmente a la conformación de una cooperación mutuamente beneficiosa.
El Acuerdo Económico y Comercial Global entre la UE y Canadá (AECG) y el Acuerdo de Asociación Estratégica fueron firmados el 30 de octubre de 2016. Buscaremos una participación constante de la sociedad civil en la aplicación de estos acuerdos. En estos momentos, las negociaciones sobre una Asociación Transatlántica de Comercio e Inversión (ATCI) entre la UE y los EE. UU. están paralizadas. No obstante, las negociaciones sobre la ATCI contribuyeron al fortalecimiento de los vínculos entre la sociedad civil de la UE y los EE. UU. y a la definición de los puntos de vista de la sociedad civil sobre cómo debe ser la futura relación comercial entre la UE y los EE. UU. No deberían perderse estos logros. Nuestro Comité de Seguimiento de las Relaciones Transatlánticas fue creado en septiembre de 2014 con el mandato de supervisar los vínculos transatlánticos con la sociedad civil,
With China and Russia on the offensive, a renewed and reliable transatlantic partnership is the key to maintaining international and legal order and peace. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) supports the idea of an Alliance of Democracies, ensuring that civil society has significant say in the joint defence of universal values and rights.
Through increased transatlantic dialogue, the Trade and Technology Council and the upcoming Summit for Democracy, the United States and the European Union have reached out to each other to jointly face global and internal challenges, and build a strong partnership on the basis of common democratic values.
Transatlantic relations remain strong and important even though they have recently had a very bad press. Business, both in the EU and the US, has a role to play in overcoming current difficulties. Together, we can effectively promote a positive transatlantic agenda and help to fight stereotypes and misinformation. These are just some of the conclusions of the debate with Susan Danger, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU. The debate took place during the Employers' Group meeting on 11 July 2018.
The role of trade as a generator of growth and jobs is undeniable, but public perception of the further liberalisation of trade is getting worse and citizens' concerns must be addressed far more effectively than before. This was one of the conclusions of the conference on "Strengthening European Growth and Competitiveness: Proactive Trade Agenda – NOW!" that took place in Helsinki on 26 October.
The role of trade as a generator of growth and jobs is undeniable, but public perception of the further liberalisation of trade is getting worse and citizens' concerns must be addressed far more effectively than before. This was one of the conclusions of the conference on "Strengthening European Growth and Competitiveness: Proactive Trade Agenda – NOW!" that took place in Helsinki on 26 October. Jacek Krawczyk, President of the EESC Employers' Group, added: It is our responsibility to advocate for trade; we cannot take it for granted that people understand what the benefits ...
With discussions for TTIP now at a critical point, the EESC has published a new opinion, ‘The position of the EESC on specific key issues of the TTIP negotiations’. The own-initiative opinion assesses some key issues of the negotiations and identifies the main considerations for European civil society. This new ...