Speech in the House on Transatlantic Relations

Speech by Graham Watson MEP on Wed 25th Apr 2007

Graham Watson, on behalf of the ALDE Group. - Mr President, after 9/11 Le Monde announced: 'Nous sommes tous Américains'. Times have changed.

On economic, environmental and ethical grounds the United States Government has been shredding the values for which America enjoyed our respect. The challenge for the EU Member States is to resist US moves towards unilateralism, whether on trade policy, over Kyoto or in respect for international law. This will require the frank, forthright, and sometimes fraught, transatlantic dialogue on issues like the visa waiver scheme, extradition and 'open skies', which our Member States have thus far resisted. Indeed, President Bush succeeds in 'divide and rule' of Europe at least as well as President Putin.

This summit is a time for some home truths. Removing regulatory barriers and harmonising standards between the world's largest trading partners must be our top priority. However, it should not come at the expense of securing a successful Doha round before Mr Bush's mandate expires on 1 July.

We must also use the summit to force recognition of the greatest security threat of the modern age - climate change - and to make the Americans agree to stabilise and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The UN Security Council debated the issue for the first time last week, underlining the seriousness of the situation.

But we must insist, too, that the administration clarify its position over allegations of torture, secret prisons and extraordinary rendition in the conduct of the war on terror. Not only is it the right thing to do but it is the only thing to do to restore America's reputation.

In the long term, only wider democratic scrutiny involving this House and the US Congress and Senate, perhaps under a transatlantic Schengen-style system, can strengthen our strategic relationship and prevent the kind of legal limbo that we are experiencing with passenger name recognition data or with SWIFT payment transactions.

Success in the war on terror rests on balancing freedom and security, not sacrificing our civil liberties.

The turmoil in Iraq is proof of what happens when we get the balance wrong. The US and the European Union should be helping to repair the damage and showing solidarity with Iraq's two million refugees. The Americans have taken exactly 466 Iraqi refugees since 2003. We know that they do not want to acknowledge a flight of refugees that is a symptom of their failure, but we need a clear and comprehensive aid budget and an agreement on sharing the burden of asylum claims.

Finally, our negotiators must not be afraid to take the initiative. Paul Wolfowitz has undermined the World Bank's moral authority. Our message to them must be that it is time for him to go.

In conclusion, I owe to an American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, the thought that there is no such thing as history, only biography. Europe's leaders should bear in mind that they will be judged as individuals for the courage they summon up in Washington.