The United States And The European Union: Working Together To Advance Freedom And Prosperity Around The World

Today, President Bush reaffirmed his support for a strong Europe capable of being a strong partner with the United States in the advance of freedom and prosperity around the world. President Bush met with the leadership of the European Union (EU), Slovenian Prime Minister and European Council President Janez Jansa and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, at Brdo Castle in Slovenia to advance our efforts to jointly confront global challenges. Holding the U.S.-EU Summit in Slovenia, a country once behind the Iron Curtain and now a member of NATO and the EU, is a compelling example of the success of our common vision of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.



Advancing Transatlantic Partnership And Global Prosperity



The U.S.-European commercial relationship is the engine of the world economy. In their discussions today, President Bush and European Union leaders discussed how to remove barriers to increase trade and investment to grow our economies and help lift people out of poverty.



Ø The President and EU leaders noted their strong commitment to achieving a prompt, ambitious, and balanced outcome in the WTO Doha Development Agenda that creates new market access and economic opportunities that promote development and alleviate poverty. The United States and EU called on all WTO members to make meaningful contributions that are necessary to advance the negotiations, achieve a breakthrough on modalities in the next few weeks, and conclude an agreement as soon as possible.



Ø At the Summit, the President gained support for his strategy for addressing the increase in global food prices:

ƒ Provide assistance to target countries vulnerable to food price increases;

ƒ Assist countries capable of rapidly increasing staple food production; and

ƒ Advance trade liberalization and increase use of advanced agricultural technologies to increase the supply of food.



Ø The United States and the EU agreed to join and work together in efforts to save more lives, by working to train health workers, especially in Africa, and to treat those suffering from seven major neglected tropical diseases.