Doslovný zápis z rozpráv

Štvrtok, 9. novembra 2023 - Brusel

2. Výsledok samitu EÚ – USA (rozprava)

  Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärungen des Rates und der Kommission zu den Ergebnissen des Gipfeltreffens EU-USA (2023/2924(RSP)).

  Ángeles Moreno Bau, presidenta en ejercicio del Consejo. – Señor presidente, señorías, señora vicepresidenta Jourová, les agradezco su invitación para debatir con ustedes el resultado de la cumbre UE-EE. UU. del mes pasado.

Como se menciona en la declaración conjunta de los dirigentes, desde la última cumbre, en junio de 2021, el mundo ha cambiado de una forma que no tiene precedentes, y la Unión Europea y los Estados Unidos han profundizado su cooperación para responder con pasos ambiciosos.

Quizás recuerden que, el día antes de la cumbre, el presidente de los Estados Unidos se dirigió a la ciudadanía estadounidense desde el despacho oval, por segunda vez en su mandato, para reconocer lo que describió como un punto de inflexión en la historia, en el que las decisiones que se tomen ahora tendrán consecuencias de gran alcance.

A la mañana siguiente, el presidente Biden se reunió con los dirigentes de la Unión Europea para tratar sobre la situación en Oriente Próximo, la guerra de agresión de Rusia contra Ucrania, China, la creación de asociaciones con economías emergentes y países en desarrollo y muchos otros asuntos. Esto demuestra claramente que la Unión Europea sigue siendo para el presidente Biden y su administración el socio indispensable al que los Estados Unidos recurren en primer lugar.

Permítanme hacer un rápido repaso de los principales temas del debate. Sobre Oriente Próximo, las posiciones de la Unión Europea y de los Estados Unidos coincidieron ampliamente. Esto se refleja en la declaración conjunta adoptada en la cumbre, que está muy en consonancia con la declaración de los miembros del Consejo Europeo sobre la situación en Oriente Próximo, publicada solo unos días antes de la cumbre.

En cuanto a la guerra de agresión de Rusia contra Ucrania, los dirigentes confirmaron con claridad que la Unión Europea y los Estados Unidos mantienen un apoyo inquebrantable y prolongado a Ucrania y que seguirán trabajando para lograr el mayor apoyo internacional posible a la fórmula de paz de Ucrania. Los dirigentes también trataron la cuestión de los activos inmovilizados rusos y se comprometieron a aplicar conjuntamente las sanciones y las medidas de control para evitar la elusión.

Las relaciones con China fueron otro tema importante. Ambas partes están dispuestas a forjar una relación constructiva y estable con China y reconocen la importancia de un diálogo franco con Pekín. Pidieron a China que actúe internacionalmente en ámbitos como la emergencia climática y la crisis de la biodiversidad, el apoyo a los países vulnerables, la salud mundial y la estabilidad macroeconómica.

En lo que respecta a la creación de asociaciones con economías emergentes y países en desarrollo, hicieron hincapié en la eficacia de los bancos multilaterales de desarrollo. Se comprometieron a aumentar el nivel de ambición para ofrecer un mayor margen de maniobra y más financiación en condiciones favorables para impulsar la capacidad del Banco Mundial de apoyar a los países de renta media y baja y de prestar más ayuda a los países más pobres.

En cuanto a la cooperación económica y el comercio, la cumbre reafirmó la importancia de la relación económica más dinámica del planeta y el papel del Consejo UE-EE. UU. de Comercio y Tecnología.

También se prestó atención al refuerzo de nuestra resiliencia y seguridad económicas. Aunque no pudimos lograr resultados concretos sobre el acuerdo mundial sobre el acero y el aluminio sostenibles ni sobre el acuerdo relativo a los minerales fundamentales, se avanzó en ambos expedientes y proseguirán las negociaciones, como siempre sucede con los viejos socios.

Permítanme detenerme un poco más en estos dos instrumentos, dada su importancia para nuestra relación económica con los Estados Unidos. Por lo que respecta al acuerdo mundial sobre el acero y el aluminio sostenibles, creo que ahora entendemos mejor las respectivas posiciones y la importancia que nosotros damos en la Unión Europea a la compatibilidad con las normas de la Organización Mundial del Comercio, manteniendo nuestra autonomía reguladora y respetando plenamente nuestra legislación. Aunque las conversaciones están en curso, debemos mantener la suspensión arancelaria en ambas partes.

Los trabajos sobre el acuerdo relativo a los minerales fundamentales están más avanzados. Alcanzar un acuerdo demostraría nuestra determinación de afrontar nuestras dependencias estratégicas y mejorar, al mismo tiempo, la resiliencia. Sería también importante para mitigar algunas de las consecuencias negativas de la Ley de Reducción de la Inflación estadounidense.

Por último, mencionaré los contactos interpersonales. Se trata de un aspecto de nuestra asociación a menudo olvidado, pero que, sin embargo, merece toda nuestra atención. La Unión Europea y los Estados Unidos se comprometieron a trabajar para lograr la exención de visado entre todos los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea y los Estados Unidos, y para aumentar significativamente el número de intercambios académicos transatlánticos entre nuestros ciudadanos en los próximos cinco años.

En definitiva, creemos que la cumbre UE-EE. UU. de este año fue muy fructífera y que mostró claramente la relevancia y la vitalidad de la asociación transatlántica en tiempos de incertidumbre mundial.

  Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, the EU-US summit took place on the 20 October and marked the second meeting of its kind organised with the Biden administration. Our goal was clear: to consolidate and strengthen the relationship between the European Union and the United States, particularly as we approach elections on both sides of the Atlantic next year. I am delighted to report that this objective was fully shared by both the European Union and the United States.

The commitment to fortify our partnership was demonstrated by the high level of participation in the summit. President Biden was accompanied by four of his cabinet members, including Secretary of State Blinken, Secretary of Treasury Yellen, Secretary of Commerce Raimondo and Trade Representative Ambassador Tai. On the European side, Presidents Michel and von der Leyen led the way with the presence of High Representative Borrell, Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and myself.

The summit can be deemed as a success. Our joint commitment to stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes was reaffirmed. We also underscored the critical importance of transatlantic ties, especially in the face of increasing geopolitical challenges. Notably, we made significant progress towards a global arrangement on sustainable steel and aluminium, and a Critical Minerals Agreement. We reiterated the importance of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council and agreed on the need to advance meaningful reform within the World Trade Organisation.

In the context of the steel and aluminium arrangement, we made substantial strides in identifying the sources of non-market access capacity and outlining the tools required to decarbonise the steel and aluminium industries. We are committed to continuing this progress in the coming months with the aim of fostering undistorted transatlantic trade in these sectors.

Negotiations on the Critical Minerals Agreement also advanced significantly and we will continue to engage with the United States and consult with our Member States to finalise an international agreement. This agreement will allow EU critical minerals to benefit from subsidies for electronic vehicles and help integrate transatlantic, critical mineral and battery supply chains. Moreover, the Critical Materials Agreement will enable us to jointly advocate for environmental protection and labour rights in trade and international supply chains of critical minerals.

President von der Leyen and President Biden highlighted the substantial progress made under the EU-US Trade and Technology Council. The cooperation within this Council has been instrumental in strengthening the trade-related aspects of our response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and effectively addressing trade irritants and disputes. It remains crucial for creating a resilient and green transatlantic marketplace. We look forward to seeing further progress at the upcoming Technology and Trade Council ministerial meeting before the end of the year.

Furthermore, we have agreed to collaborate in raising cybersecurity standards to protect consumers and businesses, reduce vulnerability to cyber-attacks, and lower trade barriers in this area. There is a strong interest on both sides on artificial intelligence, as reflected in the summit conclusions. We both want to reap the benefits of this transformational technology while addressing the risks. We have made substantial progress in our bilateral cooperation and the initiative for a Code of Conduct for generative AI, which was first launched at the TTC in May this year, was adopted by the G7 last year.

Our discussions also emphasised the need to enhance economic resilience and security, particularly by reducing supply chain vulnerabilities, especially concerning raw materials essential to the green and digital transition. We recognise the importance of bolstering transatlantic supply chains and addressing potential risks related to technology, security and technology leakage, while countering economic coercion.

  Rasa Juknevičienė, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, dear colleagues, today, more than ever, Europe and the United States share a common mission. Together, we need to overcome the axis of evil that has already caused two wars in our neighbourhood. This axis of evil, with terrorists Russia and Iran at its core, seeks to destroy democracies and take away people’s freedoms.

The EU and the US are capable of acting together strategically. We need to be united not only in a military NATO alliance; we also need a kind of economic NATO, by reviving the idea of TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). We must not only agree on the response to Russia and Iran; we both face the same complex challenge of China. There is no alternative to a strategic partnership between the US and the EU.

I fully agree with Ursula von der Leyen as she said in her speech in the Hudson Institute last month – I quote: ‘What Europe and the United States are fighting for together is about freedom and democracy.’

  Tonino Picula, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, Madam Commissioner, representative of the Council, colleagues, the US is the most fundamental partner for the European Union. How we address global challenges and our relations still sets the foundation of the multilateral order. Next month, we will adopt a report on EU-US relations, setting our expectations and goals ahead of the election year on both sides of the Atlantic.

We do share the feeling on how our relations got restored with the current administration, especially while joining together to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. However, other challenges are emerging: escalation of conflict and humanitarian crises in the Middle East; our relations with China and the Global South; how to defend our democracies and make our economies more sustainable and resilient.

While we share the basics, we must also work closely to align our policies further to achieve them while strengthening ourselves. The European Union has to match its ambition with concrete reforms and investments, because a strong Europe is the best partner to the United States, and vice versa.

  Dragoş Tudorache, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Mr President, dear Vice-President, dear State Secretary, we always declare that our EU-US bond is about shared values, and yet we often get bogged down in semantics about irritants or low-hanging fruits. Even worse, we get confused about friends and foes.

The reality of today’s geopolitics must make us more clear-eyed than ever: together and well attached to our values, we can secure the resilience of our democracies and economies, maintain open and safe trade routes, advance on critical technologies and reinvest in building partnerships and alliances around the world.

Now the question, which I also want to raise to the Vice-President, is: how do we anchor the objectives set out in the summit declaration to weather the possible political highs and lows that next year’s elections might bring on both sides of the Atlantic? What are the concrete projects and what are the stakeholders outside or inside the political spectrum that might be ensuring continuity of purpose and delivery regardless of electoral outcomes?

Because the time for identifying those projects and for investing those stakeholders into existing processes such as the TTC, that time is now.

  Henrike Hahn, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, from an industrial policy perspective, the most relevant piece of news from the EU-US summit in October is what was not agreed about. So the agreement on critical minerals doesn’t include recycled materials, as we in the European Parliament call for. What a waste of opportunity. In the EU, we currently work on having circular and resilient supply chains for critical raw materials, and, of course, we should vote for covering recycled minerals in line with the objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act. And we should not miss the chance to promote recycling capacities.

Additionally, we have this trade dispute on trade in steel and aluminium not solved yet and the EU and the US have agreed to find a solution for that. They didn’t. A future global steel and aluminium agreement should cover overcapacity and climate-related goals. This means emissions intensity thresholds for steel and aluminium production and consumption, or a common understanding on what can be permissible: green industrial subsidies that do not contribute to overcapacity.

My vision is to have a transatlantic climate alliance as a base for quick transatlantic, rational decisions pushing green economy and the fight against climate change, what is desperately needed. Let’s make that better next time.

  Assita Kanko, namens de ECR-Fractie. – Voorzitter, voor het eerst sinds ik mijn geboorteland Burkina Faso verliet, zie ik hier in Europa evenveel onveiligheid en een toegenomen censuur over bepaalde onderwerpen. Ik ben niet de enige. Vele medeburgers maken zich zorgen.

Europa en de VS moeten samen harder werken aan onze veiligheid en onze toekomst, aan een veiliger thuis voor onze burgers. In deze tijden van geopolitieke conflicten en toegenomen globale fragmentatie is deze alliantie cruciaal. We moeten inderdaad samen optrekken om terroristen en hun supporters bij ons thuis te bestrijden, Israëls recht op zelfverdediging in het Midden-Oosten te erkennen, humanitaire hulp aan Gaza toe te laten, de gijzelaars vrij te krijgen, betere partnerschappen met Afrika tot stand te brengen en het perspectief van een tweestatenoplossing in het Midden-Oosten weer terug te brengen.

Ook op economisch vlak is er nog veel te doen. Waarom zijn er nog geen akkoorden met Amerika over duurzaam staal en aluminium en over kritieke grondstoffen? Ik roep beide partners op om nog dit jaar tot akkoorden te komen en Europa ook om iets te doen, een adequaat antwoord te bieden op de Inflation Reduction Act.

  Marco Campomenosi, a nome del gruppo ID. – Signor Presidente, signora Commissaria, signora rappresentante del governo spagnolo, onorevoli colleghi, ovviamente questi incontri sono importanti e condivido assolutamente le parole pronunciate dalla Commissaria, però serve anche che noi, a livello europeo, maturiamo una consapevolezza su quali sono i nostri obiettivi politici e macroeconomici.

Continuare a perseguire, con una certa visione ortodossa, le visioni di un WTO che oggi non sono più attuali rischia di isolarci, perché gli Stati Uniti con l'IRA ci hanno dimostrato cosa si deve fare per attirare gli investimenti e la Cina, con la stretta sulle terre rare che esporterà sempre meno, ci creerà delle difficoltà. Quindi dobbiamo fare delle politiche che difendano la nostra produzione di acciaio e la nostra industria della difesa per attrarre anche noi investimenti e – attenzione – per proteggere catene del valore che, come ci insegna la crisi geopolitica gravissima che stiamo vivendo a livello mondiale, sono sempre più fragili. Ovviamente anche altri temi, come il ciberterrorismo, ci devono vedere protagonisti.

Attenzione anche a un altro aspetto: a livello legislativo abbiamo introdotto una tassazione delle emissioni alle imprese europee col sistema ETS e con altri strumenti, come il CBAM alle frontiere, che creeranno potenzialmente un rischio di competitività per le nostre imprese, perché i nostri partner internazionali ci hanno detto che questi strumenti non vorranno adottarli.

Quindi, secondo me, nei prossimi anni dovremo cambiare anche tipo di approccio: meno dirigismo e maggiore attenzione anche alle crisi sociali che ci saranno e che richiederanno un'attenzione economica e macroeconomica differente e meno attenta ai vincoli di mercati che non guardano all'impatto sociale di certe norme e accordi internazionali.

  Helmut Scholz, im Namen der Fraktion The Left. – Herr Präsident, Frau Vizepräsidentin, Frau Ratsvertreterin! 1985 Tage dauert der Handelsstreit der EU mit den Vereinigten Staaten bereits an. Auch der jüngste EU-US-Gipfel konnte die wesentlichen Differenzen nicht überbrücken. Im Streit um Schutzzölle auf Aluminium und Stahl ist keine Einigung in Sicht. In weiter Ferne verbleibt der Abschluss des für die Kommissionspräsidentin von der Leyen so wichtigen Abkommens zu kritischen Rohstoffen. Seien wir ehrlich, insbesondere aufgrund von Differenzen zu Umweltstandards und Arbeitnehmer- und Arbeitnehmerinnenrechten.

Was bleibt also von diesem Gipfel? Die Abschlusserklärung unterstreicht die Rolle des Handels- und Technologierats als Schlüsselforum für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und wird zum prinzipiellen Verhandlungsrahmen aufgewertet.

Was heißt das? Wo bleibt die parlamentarische Kontrolle, um die wir mühsam ringen? Zudem wollen die beiden Blöcke Regeln für die Technologien von morgen setzen. Multilaterale Foren werden so ums Neue umgangen und mit ihnen auch die Notwendigkeit klarer Mandate. Das aber ist bedenklich in einer sich rapide verändernden multipolaren Welt.

  Francesca Donato (NI). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, abbiamo sentito dalle parole della Commissaria un lungo elenco di progetti condivisi con l'amministrazione Biden da parte dell'Unione europea, alcuni dei quali non altrettanto condivisi dai popoli europeo e statunitense, come ad esempio quello del supporto militare e finanziario illimitato al governo ucraino, senza alcuno sforzo per arrivare a un negoziato, o come il perseguimento degli obiettivi climatici con modalità e tempistiche già dimostratesi insostenibili per il nostro sistema industriale, dal punto di vista energetico e commerciale.

Ciò che emerge dai risultati di questo vertice è il costante appiattimento delle politiche europee sugli obiettivi indicati dal governo americano, senza alcun dibattito né cura per i tanti punti di conflitto fra gli interessi dell'Unione e quelli degli Stati Uniti.

Il distacco e l'alienazione della dirigenza UE rispetto alle richieste dei cittadini europei aumenta progressivamente e di questo vedremo i risultati presto nelle urne.

  Radosław Sikorski (PPE). – Mr President, Madam Commissioner, by all accounts, the EU-US summit was successful enough. Congratulations. So let me make a larger point. Satrapies such as Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela collaborate to harm us. Therefore, we need to stick together.

There are two things that keep me awake at night. Number one, if the election in the US goes the wrong way next year, we’ll be in real trouble. And I beg you, colleagues, we need to get serious about European defence. And secondly, the bill in the US Congress to supply arms and ammunition to Ukraine is having difficulty. We need to communicate to our American colleagues that this is crucial. This is what I think we should do.

  Bernd Lange (S&D). – Herr Präsident, Frau Kommissarin! Der Gipfel war im Bereich der Handelspolitik kein Erfolg: Wir haben kein Abkommen über Stahl und Aluminium, wir haben kein Abkommen über Rohstoffe. Das liegt daran, dass die USA ihre Interessen absolut setzen – das muss man so nüchtern sehen –, wie auch beim Inflation Reduction Act. Aber ich glaube, angesichts der geopolitischen Situation haben wir auch kein Interesse daran, zu eskalieren, also neue Zölle zu setzen oder sonstige Maßnahmen zu ergreifen.

Deswegen geht es meiner Ansicht nach um drei Dinge, die wir erreichen müssen. Zum einen müssen wir sicherstellen, dass zukünftige Abkommen nicht die WTO-Regeln unterlaufen. Wir stehen nach wie vor zum multilateralen System. Zweitens: Wir werden in unseren Verhandlungen mit den Vereinigten Staaten auch keine fundamentalen Positionen der EU aufgeben können. Auch das ist, glaube ich, klar. Und zum Dritten: Also geht es darum, den Status quo abzusichern und zu sehen, wie wir gemeinsam über die Zeit kommen – also keine absolut neuen Ambitionen zu entwickeln, sondern Stabilität zu organisieren.

  Anna Fotyga (ECR). – Mr President, I commend the timing, scope and importance of what I consider to be the most important bound partnership of the world. It is necessary to align our foreign policies in times of challenge, in times of multiple threats. And here there are really many details still to discuss.

Let me turn your attention to one thing, in particular linked to the war waged by the Russian Federation on Ukraine and our necessity to focus our attention on this, despite all the other challenges that we have to focus on as well. We need a kind of agriculture Ramstein to help Ukraine finance war and defence of the country. And it is not enough to absorb shocks, market shocks, just by the European Union. We need a much broader approach, also to support ...

(The President cut off the speaker)

  Ivan Vilibor Sinčić (NI). – Poštovani predsjedavajući, naime, kod osnivanja NATO-a britanski je časnik Montgomery i sam rekao da je ideja NATO-a držati Nijemce na koljenima, Ruse van Europe, a Amerikance unutra. Slična je logika i svih drugih organizacija koje su osnovane u to vrijeme, poput Vijeća Europe ili Europske ekonomske zajednice, preteče EU.

Stanje je isto i danas, nakon 70 godina. Politički, ekonomski i vojni utjecaj SAD-a u Europi je ogroman. SAD i EU, nažalost, nisu partneri, nego se radi o vazalnom odnosu. To se pokazalo kada su američke službe prisluškivale lidere Švedske, Norveške, Francuske i Njemačke, uključujući kancelarku Angelu Merkel, a ona nije smjela niti prigovoriti niti pisnuti - kao da se ništa nije dogodilo; pokazalo se kad je američka mornarica uništila Sjeverni tok, a vlada Njemačke se nije usudila prigovoriti niti tražiti istragu ili objašnjenje.

Uništena je kritična infrastruktura, kako se to ovdje naziva, i to najsnažnije zemlje EU-a, a ona se pravi kao da nema veze s time, kao da se ništa nije dogodilo. Nema tužbe, nema istrage, nema diplomacije, čak ni kritike - da se ne bi ljutili oni tamo preko oceana. Ovaj se kontinent mora osloboditi utjecaja moćnika iz Washingtona koji se projicira preko Bruxellesa i sam odlučivati za sebe po principu suradnje suverenih država. Ako se to ne dogodi, stradat će kao pijun na geopolitičkoj šahovskoj ploči.

  Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D). – Mr President, the outcome of this EU-US summit is good because we had the life-saving news that both the USA and the EU continue their steadfast support to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

Then also we had news that, despite the fact that the two sides could not come to an agreement on the steel and aluminium tariffs or broadening the understanding of the critical materials, so important for climate change and our future industries, that they will continue the negotiations. And we could read what the ambassador to the European Union Mark Gitenstein said that the US would not let the tariff rate quotas expire on 1 January, but is ready to continue the negotiations. So I wish good luck because this is what we least need in this time of geopolitical tensions: to start any more trade disputes.

But rather I also want to take the activity and needed transatlantic relationship that is more important than ever. Also last week, four European Parliament committees visited the United States and we do our best to keep on the same track for the future on this global crisis that we are facing.

  Svenja Hahn (Renew). – Mr President, I believe the EU-US summit has shown very clearly that we stand united in our fight for democracy and against the autocrats of this world. But the transatlantic partnership is so much more than just standing against autocrats. It is also working closer together than we do with other partners. It is also growing together. And the best way to do so is by trade. And in that regard, the result of the summit has been disappointing.

And in the EU, just like in the US, we want to strengthen our economic security. More trade with more partners will make us less dependent and more trade with more democratic partners will make our economies and our democracy stronger. And the dispute remaining from the Trump tariffs needs to be solved by the end of this year. We need to see the promised agreement on sustainable steel and aluminium, and we need to see an agreement on critical minerals to ensure fair competition for European companies. Let us strengthen the transatlantic partnership by abolishing tariffs, foster more cooperation through the Trade and Technology Council, and let us work towards a vision for EU-US free trade agreement.

Spontane Wortmeldungen

  Francisco José Millán Mon (PPE). – Señor presidente, celebro que finalmente tuviera lugar la cumbre con los Estados Unidos. Espero que la próxima no espere otros dos años. Deberemos volver al sistema anual de cumbres, vigente ya en la época de Clinton.

Los retos que compartimos con los Estados Unidos son muchos: Ucrania, Oriente Medio, la compleja relación con China, la inestabilidad en el Sahel, el Indopacífico, etc. La cooperación y la coordinación con los Estados Unidos —nuestro aliado más importante— son, por lo tanto, imprescindibles.

En el plano bilateral, desgraciadamente, los resultados de la cumbre no son destacados. Sigue sin cerrarse el acuerdo sobre minerales fundamentales, necesario para evitar los problemas que la Ley de Reducción de la Inflación estadounidense genera a los vehículos eléctricos europeos. El Consejo Europeo, hace pocos días, tuvo que insistir en este punto. Es una lástima, ciertamente —y lo reitero—, que no hayamos concluido la ATCI: ahora no estaríamos en esta situación.

Y deberemos encontrar una solución pronto a la problemática del acero y del aluminio. No cabe perder mucho tiempo: en menos de un año podemos tener en Washington una administración indiferente o menos comprometida, desde luego, con la Unión Europea.

Celebro, por último, que vaya a incrementarse la financiación de los programas Erasmus+ y Fulbright Schuman.

  Maria Grapini (S&D). – Domnule președinte, doamna comisară, stimați colegi, sigur, și eu sunt rezervată vizavi de rezultatele acestui Summit.

Și de ce sunt rezervată? Recent am făcut o vizită în calitate de vicepreședinte al Comisiei pentru piața internă în Statele Unite. Au mai fost și alte comisii prezente, foarte mult dialog, dar să ne amintim că în mandatul trecut nu am putut să finalizăm în administrația Trump TTIP-ul și speranța mea și probabil a multora, era ca în administrația Biden să finalizăm acest acord transatlantic.

Sigur, e bine că avem un Consiliu comercial și tehnic. Problema este să ne uităm la rezultate. Și da, vor fi alegeri în Statele Unite și cred că intrăm într-o nouă conducere a Statelor Unite fără niște rezultate concrete.

E foarte bine că s-a menționat și ridicarea vizelor, dar vedeți, țara mea, de exemplu, nu e beneficiară a ridicării vizelor și sunt doar declarații care nu sunt acoperite în fapte și cred că pe acest lucru trebuie să punem accent, doamna comisară și președinția Consiliului, să avem rezultate.

Statele Unite sunt un partener important pentru piața internă a Uniunii Europene.

  Jordi Cañas (Renew). – Señor presidente, el resultado de las cumbres se tiene que medir o por los éxitos alcanzados o por los acuerdos alcanzados. Cuando no se alcanza ninguno, decir que ha sido un éxito, seguir negociando, está bien.

Yo no voy a hablar de minerales raros. No voy a hablar de aluminio. Voy a hablar de algo mucho más humilde: las aceitunas negras, un producto al que, desde 2018, los Estados Unidos aplican unos aranceles que han sido declarados ilegales por la Organización Mundial del Comercio. ¿Se ha hablado de esto en la cumbre? No, hombre, no. Estamos para cosas mucho más elevadas. ¿Se ha resuelto algo? Qué va.

¿Desde cuándo los Estados Unidos incumplen sus compromisos de respeto a las decisiones de la OMC? Y, sobre todo, ¿desde cuándo ustedes siguen diciendo que la mejor forma de obligar a los Estados Unidos a cumplir algo es seguir negociando?

Y la pregunta es: ¿hasta cuándo van a seguir negociando? ¿Hasta cuándo los productores van a tener que seguir soportando unos aranceles ilegales? ¿Hasta cuándo tendremos la paciencia de no dar la respuesta que los Estados Unidos merecen por sus reiterados incumplimientos?

  Ljudmila Novak (PPE). – Gospod predsednik, spoštovana gospa komisarka, kolegice in kolegi! Pošteno in fer sodelovanje vedno podpiram. Jasno je, da Evropska unija potrebuje nove partnerje, žal nismo samozadostni pri razpolaganju s kritičnimi surovinami.

Ob tem pa ne smemo slepo zaupati ali slediti večjim in močnejšim partnerjem. Nekoč smo že bili preveč odvisni od partnerjev na področju energetike. Iste napake ne smemo ponavljati.

Podpiram sporazume tudi z drugimi državami, ki razpolagajo z redkimi surovinami. Oblast v državah se lahko zamenja, žal ne vedno na bolje. Skupaj z demokratičnimi državami pa si moramo vedno prizadevati za mir in humanost v politiki in tudi v vseh konfliktih.

  Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D). – Señor presidente, gracias a la secretaria de Estado, Ángeles Moreno Bau, que ha intervenido en nombre de la Presidencia española.

Yo quiero recordar a la Cámara que el 14 de agosto de 1941 se firmaba en Newfoundland la Carta del Atlántico entre los Estados Unidos y el Reino Unido. Era la posición común de los aliados frente a la amenaza del nazifascismo. Y en el año 1995, Felipe González, en representación también de la Presidencia española, firmaba con Bill Clinton la Nueva Agenda Transatlántica.

Desde entonces tenemos el sistema de cumbres anuales o bianuales con sus declaraciones, pero carecemos extrañamente de un marco conjunto omnicomprensivo de la relación, ya sea en forma de declaración —una nueva Carta del Atlántico— o de tratado bilateral o acuerdo de asociación.

Creo que tenemos que pensar en esta dirección para que podamos tratar todos los elementos de esta importantísima relación transatlántica: comerciales, económicos, de inversión y geopolíticos.

  Inma Rodríguez-Piñero (S&D). – Señor presidente, querida comisaria, querida secretaria de Estado, sin duda alguna, las relaciones transatlánticas son cruciales y son fundamentales, especialmente en este momento geopolítico que vivimos.

Pero, a pesar de mantener el diálogo del Consejo UE-EE. UU. de Comercio y Tecnología —que me ha parecido fundamental—, lo que me preocupa enormemente, y creo que lo más importante, es que la Unión Europea tenga más influencia y más capacidad de nivelación en las relaciones transatlánticas. Y, para eso, es crucial que la Unión Europea recupere el liderazgo tecnológico y la capacidad competitiva y que realmente podamos evitar en el futuro que leyes como la Ley de Reducción de la Inflación estadounidense se puedan aprobar sin tener en cuenta a un socio estratégico como es la Unión Europea.

Por eso, le quiero preguntar a la señora comisaria si tienen prevista, van a hacer o han hecho una evaluación del impacto que la Ley de Reducción de la Inflación tiene en las empresas y la economía europeas.

  Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques (S&D). – Senhor Presidente, é muito importante que os Estados Unidos e a União Europeia trabalhem em conjunto para favorecer a sua resiliência económica e a sua segurança.

Por isso, temos que alinhar as nossas abordagens em questões muito concretas.

Precisamos, por exemplo, de combater as práticas que distorcem a concorrência, como a circulação de produtos fabricados com trabalho forçado. Os Estados Unidos têm já em vigor uma legislação muito ambiciosa. Será bom que a União Europeia aprove também a sua antes do final deste mandato.

Precisamos igualmente de trabalhar em conjunto para combater o uso indevido de técnicas de inteligência artificial e desinformação. A União Europeia está em vias de dispor de uma regulação com esses objetivos. Seria bom que os Estados Unidos fossem no mesmo sentido.

São problemas sem fronteiras que, em conjunto, podemos resolver melhor.

(Ende der spontanen Wortmeldungen)

  Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the Commission. – Mr President, honourable Members of the European Parliament, this debate confirmed that we understand the thing in the same way, the Parliament and the Commission: that it is imperative to recognise that the stability and prosperity of both sides of the Atlantic, and indeed beyond, depend on our ability to work closely and collaboratively with the United States. So, no dependency – I have to reject this, because I heard it here today – no dependency of the EU on the US. We are partners who have to work together. I think also the summit showed that this is the case.

We believe that the strength of our transatlantic partnership remains a deterrent to any who would seek to exploit weaknesses within it. The European Union and the United States share a profound and strategic relationship rooted in history, values and interests. We are firmly committed to nurturing and building upon this partnership beyond the upcoming 2024 election cycle.

Several of you asked about the concrete projects – Mr Tudorache, and several other honourable Members. So, I will go through the list of the concrete things we work on together.

First of all, many Members mentioned the slow progress, if any, on the agreement on steel and aluminium and critical materials. So, here I want to say that the summit resulted in important progress towards a global arrangement on sustainable steel and aluminium, and also Critical Minerals Agreement.

On GSA, the aluminium and steel, we made headway in identifying the sources of non-market excess capacity, and getting a better shared understanding of the tools we will need to decarbonise the steel and aluminium industries.

We are committed to continue making progress on the agreement in the next two months, including with a view to foster undistorted transatlantic trade in these sectors. So, once again, we have given ourselves an additional two more months to solve this. This is our objective and we continue to share a joint sense of urgency with you.

On the critical materials, we also advanced significantly. We will continue to engage with the United States, and also consult with our Member States, with a view to getting an agreement over the finishing line. Our objective is a full international agreement, which will allow EU critical materials to benefit from subsidies for electric vehicles under the Inflation Reduction Act, and help integrate transatlantic critical material, critical mineral, and battery supply chains. So, this is the update on these two agreements.

Now, back to the Technology and Trade Council, its technological part. One last comment on the Inflation Reduction Act. Ms Piñero, we recently adopted a communication as a reaction on the Inflation Reduction Act, the update of the response of the EU, and there is very relevant data being used for the communication.

I also want to mention, under the list of projects, the Clean Energy Incentives Dialogue, which is also connected with the Inflation Reduction Act, as you know. On the technology side, we have several priorities, which we confirmed; we will discuss them further still this year on the next session. Then we should have the last one under this administration – and it should be in spring – to wrap up, summarise the results of common efforts and discuss the possible future continuation. But, of course, the elections are coming, and so we have to work together till spring, and then to plan with some level of uncertainty.

At the same time, I want to mention four priorities under the technology side of TTC. First is the stabilisation of cooperation in the field of semiconductors, including supply chains. When I say stabilisation, I mean not ad hoc reactions on some shortages or some unexpected situations, but something more systematic, something more predictable, where we can rely on each other.

The second thing is cooperation on quantum and related technologies, especially common research, usage of Horizon-relevant programmes on the US side. The same or similar way ahead of us is for AI. Again, strong cooperation in the research field. As you may know, recently, Gina Raimondo announced the establishment of the institute on generative AI safety. She announced it in London. After we finalise the AI Act, we will also be able to announce a similar arrangement on the European Union side. Cooperation in research field is more than needed in the field of AI and generative AI, foundation models, and so on.

Also, we are continuing consultations when it comes to regulatory response on possible risks posed by artificial intelligence. Convergence of rules and common work on future global rules is a very important project still ahead of us. I am sure that if the democratic world joins forces and becomes the rules makers for the technologies, rather than rules takers, we will win a very important global battle, because the field of technologies is unfortunately, in the current world, a battlefield.

The third thing – or the last priority we have, under TTC technology part – is intensive cooperation and common projects to promote digitalisation and development of technologies and innovations in third countries. Plenty of work, a lot has been done; some things are still ahead of us, but I believe that by spring 2024, we will be able to announce very concrete results stemming from our mutual cooperation with the United States.

  Ángeles Moreno Bau, presidenta en ejercicio del Consejo. – Señor presidente, señorías, señora vicepresidenta Jourová, muchas gracias por sus intervenciones y comentarios. Estamos en un momento sin precedentes y el debate de hoy así lo confirma. La Unión Europea y los Estados Unidos se enfrentan a unos desafíos enormes: la guerra en Ucrania, la crisis en Oriente Medio, el cambio climático y la transición energética, por citar solo algunos ejemplos.

Con los Estados Unidos somos socios para defender la libertad y la democracia, nuestros valores comunes, y para buscar soluciones a los problemas sin fronteras de nuestro planeta, como muchos de ustedes han dicho. Ni la Unión Europea ni los Estados Unidos pueden hacer frente por sí solos a estos desafíos, y es evidente que el presidente Biden y su Gobierno están dispuestos y son favorables a colaborar con nosotros.

La cumbre ha desembocado en un programa ambicioso que marca el camino para hacer frente a estos desafíos. Ambas partes nos hemos comprometido a adelantar el trabajo y alcanzar soluciones en cuestiones esenciales en materia de comercio abierto. Colaboraremos para llevar a cabo este programa y apostaremos por la Asociación Transatlántica, que es fundamental para la prosperidad y la seguridad de nuestros pueblos y del resto del mundo.

Una vez más, gracias por su atención y por sus contribuciones, que serán muy útiles para guiar nuestro trabajo futuro y preparar futuras cumbres.

  Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.

Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)

  Urmas Paet (Renew), kirjalikult. – On oluline, et ELi ja USA toetus Ukrainale jätkuks, seda tippkohtumisel ka kinnitati. EL ja USA on teinud tihedat koostööd, et Ukrainat toetada nii poliitiliselt kui ka relvaabi andes. Oluline on hoida Ukrainas toimuvat pidevalt fookuses. Pingelist olukorda maailmas arvestades peab USA ja ELi koostöö jätkuma ka muudes valdkondades. On oluline, et nii USA kui ka EL töötaksid koos selle nimel, et olukord Lähis-Idas ei eskaleeruks veelgi enam.