EU-Digest/China View: EU FMs to finalize plans for establishing co-op with U.S. - "November G20 meeting an exercise in futility - EU-Digest"

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EU FMs to finalize plans for establishing co-op with U.S

Foreign ministers of the European Union members are to gather today, on the eve of the U.S. presidential elections, for an informal meeting to finalize their plans for establishing a balanced and closer cooperation with the United States. At the Informal Meeting of Foreign Ministers (Gymnich) in the southern France city of Avignon two months ago, the ministers had discussed how the EU could enhance political dialogue with the United States to carry more weight in the resolution of regional crises and to intensify transatlantic cooperation for dealing with major global challenges. Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the EU Council and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, together with Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Relations, will attend the one-day meeting.

Note EU-Digest: "we can only hope the EU will look at their relationship with the US in a more objective way. As it stands now the US in dealing with the EU has gotten their way in most areas, including those on issues of security, privacy, and transportation. A recent agreement between the EU and the US has resulted in EU citizens privacy rights being compromised. One of the reason's for this lopsided relationship in favor of the US is that the US usually deals with each individual EU member state on a bi-lateral level instead of dealing with the EU as one body.

It also seems a futile and costly exercise for the EU to participate in the G20 conference later this month, presided over by a lame duck US government. A new US Administration, whichever candidate wins the presidential election will want to have their say in these deliberations. Even though the winner of that contest will be known at the time of the planned G20 meeting, there can only be one President of the US at a time, and that President will still be Mr. Bush. The new Administration will be in office on January 20 and it would make far more sense to to wait until after that date to hold the G20 meeting soon thereafter".