In the new report, members of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, led by Tonino Picula, called on the EU to work on creating an even stronger partnership, stronger leadership, and sharing responsibilities with the US.
Tonino Picula emphasized during the vote: "Our imperative is to send clear messages about how we see our cooperation and what it should be in the months and years to come to protect this long-lasting, fundamental alliance and make it as resilient as possible to various electoral outcomes. Strong transatlantic cooperation is based on the principle that a partnership of shared leadership and responsibility is necessary to overcome numerous crises on both sides of the Atlantic. We must not hesitate to emphasize that the US is the most important political and economic partner of the EU, and vice versa. Seventy years of international order, presentation of democratic values, open societies, and protection of human and minority rights have been based on cooperation between the US and the EU."
"Jointly opposing Russian aggression and providing support to Ukraine will become even more important tasks in the coming months and will remain our joint duty and obligation. The wave of solidarity across the EU and globally, the EU's joint response, and the commitments of the member states are unprecedented. We have stood united in the hardest of times, and this crisis has once again proven that," added Picula.
This report contains clear recommendations on what our partnership should include regarding China, the Indo-Pacific region, the Western Balkans, Africa, and other global partners, as well as security and defense.
"We can only commend all the concrete outcomes of stronger cooperation, such as the two EU-US summits, the Trade and Technology Council, dialogues on the Indo-Pacific, China, and cooperation on key raw materials. However, we must not fail to mention the challenges that remain, particularly with the adoption of the IRA, where most of our concerns have not been taken into account, and issues on tariffs remain unresolved," assessed Picula.
He also warned that a change in the US administration and a possible return to power of Donald Trump would likely result in a significantly different view of EU and US cooperation, which is why it is important for the EU to continuously develop mechanisms that will enable it to respond more independently to key challenges.
"We want more cooperation and leadership in an equal partnership whenever possible. However, we also expect the EU to build its own open strategic autonomy. A strong European Union is the best response to all challenges and also the best partner for the United States," concluded Picula.
