THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FACT SHEET

The New Transatlantic Agenda

The New Transatlantic Agenda (NTA) was launched one year ago in Madrid with the aim of giving new focus and direction to U.S.-EU political and economic cooperation in Europe and globally. The Agenda and its accompanying Action Plan identified over 150 specific items for U.S.-EU cooperation. It builds on the 1990 Transatlantic Declaration's basic principles and consultative framework for the U.S.-EU partnership. The NTA establishes a framework for political cooperation and provides an additional mechanism at the senior level for managing our differences.

The NTA set four major goals which serve as the Framework for joint actions by the United States and the European Union.

• First is promoting peace, development and democracy around the world. Our most important objectives are to extend stability and prosperity throughout the whole continent of Europe; secure peace in the Middle East; work against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; advance human rights; and cooperate on development and humanitarian assistance.
• Second is responding to global challenges by cooperation against international crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism; to combat disease; and to protect the environment.
• Third is contributing to the expansion of world trade and closer economic ties. The focus is on strengthening the multilateral trading system and on establishing concrete, practical building blocks to build a more liberal and open trading and investment environment across the Atlantic.
• Fourth is building bridges across the Atlantic by taking steps to promote better communication between American and European business people, legislators, scientists, artists, and citizens.

The December 16 Summit caps a set of meetings between the U.S. and EU during the Irish Presidency. A Senior Level Group (SLG), co-chaired on the U.S. side by Under Secretaries of State Peter Tarnoff and Joan Spero, met in Washington in early September and in Dublin in late November. Further meetings during the autumn between U.S. and EU senior political and economic officials provided direction and continuity for progress on outstanding issues under the NTA umbrella. The SLG presented a report on the status and progress of key, high-priority issues to the Leaders in advance of the Summit.

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