Added: 05/05/2006 |
Long and beneficial history of the European Commission to the USAThe first delegation of the European Commission to the USA established its office in Washington and launched the cooperation on steel and coal. The aspiration of the EU for the integration and unification was not understood in the USA for a certain amount of time. Nevertheless today, the USA and EU are two major powers in the world that jointly define their long-term objectives and purposes.
The activities started with the cooperation on the European Community's coal and steel matters, and for a long time the Americans did not recognize the European Union policy programs and aspiration toward the global unification, Europeanization and integration.
The headline of the first Bulletin from the European Community for Coal and Steel, written by Tennyson in October 1954, mirrored the European integration ambitions of that period. It is read "Towards a Federal Government of Europe," and its first paragraph summed up the opportunities and dilemmas ahead for the European Commission to the USA: "Today, Europe is in march towards unification. Yet, the details of this progress are not well known nor is their significance widely understood..."
However, the growth of the European Commission to the USA was inevitable. The delegation soon took more recognizable diplomatic profile and an increasing number of European Commission officials were sent from Brussels.
In early 1963, the small offices at the Southern Building were substituted by several suites at the Farragut Building on Farragut Square. Soon, the delegation moved to 2100 M Street, NW.
The years 2000-2004 were the most productive for the European Commission to the USA. Although the EU/US relationship felt the most serious tensions over several international issues, including Iraq, these years were characterized by increasing volumes of trade and investment.
The bilateral trade between the EU and US amounts to over one billion dollars a day; investment links are even stronger, estimating over one point eight trillion a year. Each partner creates jobs for about six million workers, and the EU-US trade accounts for almost forty percent of world trade.
However, the mission of the European Commission to the USA nowadays goes farther than the simple trade and investment. The EU and US have achieved high levels of cooperation in fighting with terrorism in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001.
During several meetings in 2005, the EU and US leaders emphasized the significance of their partnership and necessity to develop common objectives.
The European Commission President Barroso concluded, "The relationship between the United States and Europe constitutes the world's strongest, most comprehensive and strategically most important partnership." (Brussels, 9 February 2005).
The US President Bush in his turn emphasized the following idea, "Today, the security and justice and prosperity for our world depend on America and Europe, working in the common purpose. That makes our transatlantic ties as vital as they have ever been." (19 February 2005).
This common purpose of EU-US relations is to promote global peace, stability and democracy, enhance global economic and social development as well, jointly accept global responsibility for establishing freedom, stability and prosperity in the world.
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