Doug Bereuter: “today this city is the site of the annual U.S.-EU summit. Leaders of the European Union are here meeting with President…”

“today this city is the site of the annual U.S.-EU summit. Leaders of the European Union are here meeting with President Bush and members of his administration in order to strengthen transatlantic relations and to work on a common agenda which seeks solutions to issues within this relationship. A balanced and well-defined U.S.-EU relationship is critical to global peace and stability. Although the difficult debate over Iraq presented yet another challenge to the relationship between the United States and Europe, it remains clear to this Member that a strong, mature transatlantic relationship is critical to the long-term economic, political and security interests of both the United States and Europe. And one of the central ingredients to a successful partnership with Europe is a stable and integrated European Union. It is important that the EU has evolved to become, along with NATO, one of the two critical international organizations to achieve these objectives. Summits such as the one today along with legislative exchanges can serve to reinvigorate transatlantic relations in order that we, the United States and the Europeans, can together meet the global challenges we face.”