4. Relations after 11 September 2001

A new impetus has been given to the day to day work of transatlantic relations. Well before the terrorist attacks, in June this year, European Commission President Romano Prodi and US President George W. Bush had already identified counter-terrorism as one of the five priority issues for cooperation between the European Union and the United States: since 11 September, this has become the overriding priority.

The European Response

Within days of 11 September the European Commission brought forward new measures to fight terrorism across Europe, including an agreed definition of what constitutes a terrorist act; a European arrest warrant to supplant the cumbersome system of extradition between EU Member States; tighter money laundering rules; and a legislative vehicle to permit the rapid freezing of assets across Europe as soon as an individual or organisation has been identified as a potential source of terrorist financing. The Commission has also moved quickly with air transport security measures. At an extraordinary meeting on 21 September, the European Council also acknowledged that the fight against terrorism requires greater participation by the Union in the efforts of the international community to prevent and stabilise regional conflicts. By developing Common Foreign and Security Policy and bringing the European Security and Defence Policy into operation as soon as possible, the Union will be at its most effective.

Working with the United States

In all of this activity, the European Union is coordinating its efforts closely with those of the United States. In the meantime, officials and experts on both sides are in constant contact with each other to ensure the greatest possible complementarity between US and EU actions. Fortunately, the mechanics of EU-US relations have stood up well to this test. The New Transatlantic Agenda (‘NTA’), signed in 1995, governs formal contacts between the EU and the US. Using its structures, both sides have been able to meet frequently and at all levels to coordinate the campaign against terrorism. At the same time, the underlying strength of the NTA has become apparent. Far from diverting attention from the day-to-day business of EU-US relations, this crisis has shown that we can bring all necessary resources to bear when the unexpected arises, while ensuring ‘business as usual’ on the very wide range of other issues that exist on the transatlantic agenda at any given time. The successful conclusion to the WTO Ministerial meeting in Doha earlier in November bears witness to this. Working together to make the Doha meeting a success was another priority for EU-US operation, and its outcome demonstrates that neither the EU nor the US has allowed the attacks of 11 September to derail our commitment to working together for the good of our citizens and the global community.