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EU Official Emphasizes Need for Closer Ties With US
A senior European Union official on Wednesday told the European Parliament that the 15-nation bloc needs to straighten its ties with the United States.
Chris Patten, EU external relations commissioner, told the parliament now in session in Strasbourg that the critics of recent United States policies had failed to recognize the unique nature and unique strength of the trans-Atlantic bond.
He thought the discussion of the EU-U.S. relations at the parliamentary session was the right occasion to put things straight.
Patten reminded the critics of the trans-Atlantic cooperation in the Balkans, in the Middle East and in the Korean peninsula.
He said the EU and U.S. are principal partners in addressing the new, cross-cutting issues on the international agenda, such as communicable diseases, organized crimes, drug, people trafficking, money laundering. "All these manifestations of the dark side of globalization require our concerted action," he added.
Patten said that the U.S. withdrawal from the Kyoto accord rightly met with shock and dismay in Europe but the Europeans should not let disappointment turn into fruitless confrontation with the Americans.
The EU countries are expected to compare notes with the United States when U.S. President George W. Bush is scheduled to meet the heads of state and government from EU countries on June 14 in Gothenburg of Sweden during the EU summit.
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