U.S.-EU Summit 2006: Summary
CRS Report for Congress
U.S.-EU Summit 2006: Summary
Vince L. Morelli
Analyst in European Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division
Summary
The annual U.S.-EU Summit, attended by President Bush and Secretary of State
Rice, was held on June 21, 2006, in Vienna, Austria. The Summit highlighted the
continued improvement in transatlantic relations by reporting on examples of how the
partnership has continued to work since the debate over Iraq policy. Foreign policy and
economic issues dominated the discussions. Two new agreements were signed regarding
the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights against piracy and counterfeiting and a
Higher Education and Vocational Training program. An expansion of existing
cooperation on energy security was announced along with the establishment of a High
Level Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development. The
Summit also addressed differences of opinion on issues such as the Guantanamo
detention center, and the visa waiver program. This report will not be updated. Also
see CRS Report RS22163, The United States and Europe: Current Issues, by Kristin
Archick.
U.S.-EU SUMMIT
Background. On June 21, 2006, the United States and the European Union held
their annual Summit in Vienna, Austria. Attending the Summit for the EU was Austrian
Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, representing the Presidency of the European
Council, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Javier Solana, the
High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, EU Trade Commissioner
Peter Mandelson and Austrian Foreign Minister Plassnik. President Bush led the U.S.
delegation, accompanied by Secretary of State Rice and others.
Summit Agenda. The theme for the 2006 Summit was “a renewed partnership
producing results worldwide.” The four general topics discussed included foreign policy
cooperation, energy security, economy and trade, and global challenges.
In the area of foreign policy, the Middle East dominated the discussions. The United
States and the EU took strong positions in the aftermath of the early 2006 Palestinian
elections, refusing to recognize the Hamas authority. Both sides are working closely to
provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. The close cooperation between
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the EU and United States on Iran’s nuclear ambitions was also highlighted. Both sides
expressed a strong desire to see Iran accept the newest package of incentives offered by
the international community to defuse the dispute. Iraq reconstruction is also an issue on
which the EU and the United States have begun to work more closely. In 2005, the EU
and United States jointly hosted a conference to support Iraq’s democratic transition and
to help raise funds for reconstruction. The EU has also announced plans to open an office
in Baghdad. Other cited examples of cooperation included efforts to strengthen
democracy in Ukraine and to withhold acceptance of the results of the recent flawed
elections in Belarus. Joint opposition to a possible long-range missile test flight by North
Korea was also expressed. The crisis in Darfur, the peace process in the Congo, and the
potential end of violence in Somalia were also offered as examples of issues on which
there is closer U.S.-EU cooperation.
Energy security was discussed in detail and a new action plan to address security of
supply, competitiveness, the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency was
outlined. The United States and the EU agreed to elevate their cooperative effort on
energy to a “strategic energy dialogue” in order to more closely coordinate policy towards
supplies and suppliers of energy. A renewal of the Energy Star Agreement for the
promotion of energy efficient office equipment was approved for signature later in 2006.
Under economy and trade, both sides expressed their intentions to pursue
negotiations which would conclude the DOHA Development Agenda by the end of 2006.
The DOHA negotiations have bogged down over the issue of industrial tariffs in the
emerging economies, which makes market access for EU and U.S. companies more
difficult, and EU and U.S. agricultural tariffs and subsidies, which make those markets
difficult for developing states to penetrate. The United States and the EU are still in
disagreement over how much each side is willing to compromise on agricultural
subsidies. The United States and EU also announced a new “action strategy” for the
Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) against global piracy and
counterfeiting,1 This initiative will build on the momentum of the 2005 Summit at which
the United States and EU agreed to adopt effective intellectual property rights protection
and enforcement rules in regional and bilateral agreements and as a key focus of trade
capacity- building technical assistance to third countries. The Agreement also establishes
informal mechanisms for IPR, customs, and law enforcement experts to exchange views
on best practices in addressing piracy and counterfeit problems in third countries.
Under global challenges the United States and the EU agreed to establish a U.S.-EU
High Level Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development.
The Europeans saw this as a major achievement in transatlantic cooperation because of
Europe’s belief that the current U.S. Administration is not concerned enough about the
environment.
1 See US/EU Joint Declaration: Working Together to Fight Global Piracy and Counterfeiting,
U.S./EU Summit, June 2005, EU Commission website.
The United States and the EU also renewed a Higher Education and Vocational
Training Agreement2 that was established in 1995. The program is funded and managed
jointly by the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Education. The projects
include joint study programs, faculty and staff exchanges, dissemination of projects,
software and Web development.
Other Issues. During the Summit, the matter of the Guantanamo detention camp
was discussed. The EU has expressed its strong desire to see the facility closed as soon
as possible because the Europeans believe it degrades shared values regarding human
rights, and disregards international accords on the treatment of prisoners. On June 13, the
European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for the closing of the
camp. President Bush acknowledged the concerns of the Europeans and suggested that
he would like to see an end to the facility as well but that he could not release some of the
remaining prisoners because they were considered extremely dangerous.3 The United
States is also trying to work out agreements with governments that would receive some
of the prisoners eventually released.
The EU also raised the issue of the U.S. visa waiver program and the desire to have
it applied to all EU member states. Currently, 10 EU member states (mostly the newer
members from central and eastern Europe) are excluded from the visa waiver program due
to problems meeting U.S. immigration laws. The United States prefers to address this
issue on a country-by-country basis. Both sides agreed, however, that ‘tangible progress
was needed to establish a reciprocal visa-free travel regime for all EU citizens to the
United States.’4
Both sides also agreed to try to conclude the open skies initiative which has stalled
in the United States. The United States and EU reached an accord last year giving more
access to cities in the United States and Europe for each other’s airlines. However, new
regulations prepared by the Department of Transportation have generated opposition in
the United State over investment, ownership and management of U.S. airlines by
European airline companies. On June 14, the House included language in the Fiscal Year
2007 Transportation Appropriations bill (H.R. 5576) which would delay the rule until
The United States and the EU also agreed to cooperate closely on resolution of the
issue of passenger name records (PNR) data transfer. In reaction to September 11, 2001,
the U.S. Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 (P.L.107-
71). A critical element of this legislation was the requirement that air carriers operating
flights to the United States provide certain data regarding passengers. The Passenger
Name Record (PNR) information was to be collected prior to any aircraft landing in the
United States and forwarded to the Bureau of Customs and Border Control. In December
2003, the Department of Homeland Security and the European Commission reached an
agreement that would allow European air carriers to provide PNR data. In May 2006, the
2 Additional information on this Agreement can be found on the website of the European
Council’s Summit agenda.
3 See Vienna Summit concluding press release, White House, June 21, 2006.
4 Summit press release, op. cit.
European Court of Justice, in response to a suit filed by the European Parliament, ruled
that the European Commission had no legal basis for declaring the PNR data issue in
compliance with EU privacy laws. The Court ruled that data transfers could continue until
September but directed the Commission to find another basis to continue the program
beyond then.5
5 For more information on the Court of Justice decision see, European Court of Justice press
release #46/06, May 30, 2006.