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THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED STATES HELD THE 17TH EU-US SUMMIT IN WASHINGTON ON APRIL 30, 2007. THE SUMMIT, LED BY US PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL IN HER ROLE AS ROTATING EU PRESIDENT, FOCUSED ON CLOSER ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AND ON COMMON GLOBAL ACTION TO ENHANCE DEMOCRACY, SECURITY, AND DEVELOPMENT. IMPORTANT AGREEMENTS WERE SIGNED FOREMOST THE TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE US, WITH THE GOAL OF A TRANSATLANTIC COMMON MARKET. THIS JOINT DECLARATION DETAILS THE NEWLY AGREED FRAMEWORK FOR ADVANCING TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMIC INTEGRATION BETWEEN THE EU AND THE US.
We, leaders of the European Union and the United States of America:
Believing that deeper transatlantic economic integration and growth will benefit our citizens and the competitiveness of our economies, will have global benefits, will facilitate market access for third countries and will encourage other countries to adopt the transatlantic economic model of respect for property rights, openness to investment, transparency and predictability in regulation, and the value of free markets;
Affirming our shared commitment to increase the transparency and efficiency of our economic cooperation and to accelerate the reduction of barriers to international trade and investment;
Desiring to improve the effectiveness of existing economic cooperation and to elevate and accelerate existing work to achieve tangible progress;
Recognizing that the transatlantic economy remains at the forefront of globalization, and that the European Union and the United States are each other's most important economic partners, reflecting historical ties as well as a wide range of common fundamental values, such as the importance of free enterprise, rule of law, property rights, free trade, and competition, and the protection of health, safety and the environment for our citizens and workers;
Reaffirming our commitment to the 2005 EU-U.S. Summit Declaration on Enhancing Transatlantic Economic Integration and Growth, in which we resolved to pursue a forward- looking agenda to enhance transatlantic economic integration and growth, and our commitments from the June 2006 Summit to redouble our efforts to reduce barriers to transatlantic trade and investment and our pledge to keep our investment regimes open and to build on existing investment flows to boost growth and create jobs in the transatlantic economy;
Recognizing further that we have established a wide range of...