European Union |
United States |
Relations between the European Union and the United States are the bilateral relations between the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA). Due to the EU not having a fully integrated foreign policy, relations can be more complicated where the EU does not have a common agreed position e.g. EU foreign policy was divided during the Iraq War.
The European Union and the United States have held diplomatic relations since 1953.[1] The relationship between the EU and the US is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. They are the biggest economic and military powers in the world (even if the EU does not yet have a common defense policy), they dominate global trade, they play the leading roles in international political relations, and what one says matters a great deal not only to the other, but to much of the rest of the world. And yet they have regularly disagreed with each other on a wide range of specific issues, as well as having often quite different political, economic, and social agendas. Understanding the relationship today means reviewing developments that predate the creation of the European Economic Community (precursor to today's European Union).
Key events in the evolving history of the relationship include the following:
Euro-American relations are primarily concerned with trade policy. The EU is a near-fully unified trade bloc and this, together with competition policy, are the primary matters of substance currently between the EU and the USA. The two together represent 60% of global GDP, 33% of world trade in goods and 42% of world trade in services. The growth of the EU's economic power has led to a number of trade conflicts between the two powers; although both are dependent upon the other's economic market and disputes affect only 2% of trade. See below for details of trade flows;[2]
| Direction of trade | Goods | Services | Investment | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU to US | €260 billion | €139.0 billion | €112.6 billion | €511.6 billion |
| US to EU | €127.9 billion | €180 billion | €144.5 billion | €452.4 billion |
In 2007, a Transatlantic Economic Council was established to direct economic cooperation between the two, it is headed by the US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs and the EU's Commissioner for Trade. However it is yet to produce solid results. A Transatlantic Free Trade Area has been proposed in the 1990s and later in 2006 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in reaction to the collapse of the Doha world trade talks. However, protectionism on both sides may be a barrier to any future agreement.[3][4]
| Relations with member states |
|---|
| Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom |
Annual Summits are held between EU and US policy makers. When these take place in Europe, they have historically taken place in the country that holds the rotating Presidency of the European Union.
List of EU-US Summits:
Both the United States and the European Union as of 2005[update] have an arms embargo against China (PRC), put in place in 1989 after the events of Tiananmen Square. The U.S. and some EU members continue to support the ban but others, spearheaded by France, have been attempting to persuade the EU to lift the ban, arguing that more effective measures can be imposed, but also to improve trade relations between China and certain EU states. The U.S. strongly opposes this, and after the PRC passed an anti-secession law against Taiwan the likelihood of the ban being lifted diminished somewhat.
The two companies are the major competing aircraft manufacturers, and both Boeing and Airbus are accused of receiving forms of subsidy from the United States[5] and from some of the European Union member states respectively, which both sides have criticised each other for doing. The pressure for this issue to be resolved has increased as Airbus and Boeing are now nearly equal in commercial aircraft market share.
The defence of Europe is assigned to NATO and Europeans are more averse to using military force, and paying for military force, than the US. This has frustrated the US who sees Europe as failing to support its side of the NATO operation in Afghanistan. Only a handful of European countries are reaching the NATO target for 2% of GDP going to defence.[6] Defence cooperation in Europe is often opposed by the UK which states it does not wish to undermine NATO or the US role in Europe, despite the US being supportive of Europe improving its capabilities.
In March 2010 EADS and its US partner pulled out of a contract to build air refuelling planes worth $35bn. They had previously won the bid but it was rerun and EADS claimed the new process was biased towards Boeing. The European Commission said it would be "highly regrettable" if the tendering process did prove to be biased. There was substantial opposition to EADS in Washington due to the ongoing Boeing-Airbus (owned by EADS) dispute.[7][8]
Genetically modified food is another significant area of disagreement between the two. The EU has been under domestic pressure to restrict the growth and import of genetically modified foods until their safety is proven to the satisfaction of the populace. The US on the other hand is under pressure from its agricultural businesses to force the EU to accept imports, seeing the EU's restrictions as alarmist and protectionist.
The Washington Post claimed on November 2, 2005 that the USA has several secret jails in Eastern Europe (also called black sites). Poland and Romania however have denied these allegations. Also, Central Intelligence Agency planes carrying terror suspects would have made secret stopovers in several West European countries since 2001. Belgium, Iceland, Spain, and Sweden have launched investigations. The Guardian calculated on November 30 that U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) planes landed about 300 times on European air ports. Most planes would have landed in Germany and the United Kingdom as a transit point to East Europe, North Africa (possibly Morocco and Egypt), or the Middle East (possibly Syria and Jordan). In the meanwhile, the European Commission, on behalf of the European Union, asked the US for a clarification. The EU has refused to confirm or deny the reports.[9][10][11][12][13]
Extraordinary rendition flights through Europe were investigated over a number of years by the European Parliament and it held a temporary committee on the matter. The EU has also opposed the use of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and offered to host some former inmates when its closure was announced by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal form of punishment, whereas all European Union member states have abolished the death penalty fully (excluding Latvia which has retained it for exceptional circumstances such as wartime only). Indeed, nearly all European states no longer use the death penalty. This causes problems with transatlantic relations because it may be illegal for an EU member to allow the extradition of a citizen to the U.S. if the death penalty is an option.
The U.S. is strongly opposed to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and has not signed up to it, though most states in Europe have. The U.S. fears that its soldiers may be subject to politically motivated prosecutions, so much so that it has signed many bilateral agreements with other countries in an attempt to avoid this.
In the Arab-Israeli conflict, both sides of the Atlantic usually act more or less in tandem, in regard to the approach to the Palestinian Resistance forces as well as other issues (such as the recent conflict in Lebanon). However, in general, the European Union is often more critical of Israel, particularly in issues of policy (such as the West Bank barrier), and has criticized Israeli military actions that the U.S. has supported. The U.S. has historically been a much more supportive ally, going so far as to even use its veto at the United Nations Security Council in Israel's support.
The United States has not ruled out the use of force against Iran regarding the Iranian nuclear weapons program. France, Germany and the United Kingdom have taken the lead to solve the issue diplomatically, while representing the interests of the United States in negotiations with Iran since the United States has had no official diplomatic relations with the country since 1979. Former UK Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, described military action against Iran as "inconceivable".[14]
The Iraq War not only divided opinions within European nations and within the U.S., but between European nations themselves, with some states supporting of military action, and some against. The European public opinion was staunchly opposed to the war. This caused a major transatlantic rift, especially between the states led by France and Germany[15][16] on the one hand, who were against military action, and the United States with United Kingdom and Poland, among others.[17]
The European Union is one of the main backers of the Kyoto protocol, which aims to combat global warming. The United States which initially signed the protocol at its creation during the Clinton Administration, never had the measure ratified by the United States Senate, an essential requirement to give the protocol the force of law in the United States. Later, in March 2001, under President George W. Bush, the United States removed its signature from the protocol, leading to much acrimony between the United States and European nations. Recently, President Barack Obama, however, said that he planned on re-signing the protocol at a conference to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009, where the protocol will be renewed and its measures extended.[18]
The EU is requesting from the US reciprocity regarding the visa waiver program for all its members. The European Union has threatened with the possibility of imposing visas for American citizens that would extend to the entire EU.
The EU and US had a long running dispute over the EU's banana imports.[19][20] As part of their international aid, the EU offered tenders on a first-come-first-served basis for bananas from countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The US argued that this favoured local producers in former colonies of EU member-states, over US-owned corporations in Latin America. The Clinton administration responded by imposing heavy tariffs on luxury goods created in the EU.[21] Such goods included cashmere from Scotland and French Cognac brandy, made in the original constituency of then Prime Minister of France Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The Clinton administration then took the banana wars to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1999, when Chiquita made a $500 000 donation to the Democratic Party.[19] The two sides reached an agreement in 2001.[22]
In 2002, the U.S. imposed steel tariffs to protect its steel industry. The European Union and other countries took up the issue with the WTO, which ruled that such tariffs breach its regulations. Subsequently, by December 2003, the tariffs had been lifted by the U.S. administration.
The current EU ambassador to the US is João Vale de Almeida and the EU's embassy in Washington D.C. was the first overseas delegation of the EU to open.
The US ambassador to the EU is William Kennard.[23] The US was the first third-country to recognise the EU's earliest forerunner, the European Coal and Steel Community, and first appointed an observer in 1953: David E. Bruce. Their first mission opened in 1956.[24]
The Transatlantic Economic Council is headed by the US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs and the EU's Commissioner for Trade.
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