EU-US Summit – Joint Statement

1. We, the leaders of the European Union and the United States, met
today in Brussels to reaffirm our strong partnership. We reaffirmed our
shared values of democracy, individual freedom, the rule of law and
human rights, and a common commitment to open societies and economies.
Starting from those values, the European Union and the United States
work together every day to address issues of vital interest and
importance to our citizens and the world. We strive to create jobs and
sustainable growth through sound economic policies. We seek a landmark
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership to build our common
prosperity.

We undertake joint efforts to build security and
stability around the globe and to tackle pressing global challenges like
climate change. Today, we took stock of our achievements, set
priorities and charted the way ahead for a stronger transatlantic
relationship, and rededicated ourselves to building a safer, more
prosperous world for future generations.

2. Today in Ukraine, the
basic principles of international law and security in the 21st century
are being challenged. The EU and the US support the Ukrainian people and
their right to choose their own future and remain committed to uphold
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We strongly
condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea to Russia and will not
recognise it. We urge Russia to engage in a meaningful dialogue with
Ukraine with a view to finding a political solution. Further steps by
Russia to destabilise the situation in Ukraine would lead to additional
and far reaching consequences for the EU's and US’ relations with Russia
in a broad range of economic areas.

The EU and the US stand by
the Ukrainian government in its efforts to stabilise Ukraine and
undertake reforms, including through assistance. We welcome the
Ukrainian government's commitment to ensure that governmental structures
are inclusive and reflect regional diversity and to provide full
protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.

3.
Reinforcing economic growth and job creation remains central. The EU
and the United States have taken important steps to stabilize financial
conditions and overcome the crisis. The EU remains committed to building
a deep and genuine economic and monetary union, including a banking
union on which significant progress has already been made. Determined
action by the EU and the United States is vital to support the recovery
in the short run and to promote sustainable and balanced growth, to
boost competiveness and to reduce unemployment, especially of young
people.

4. We commit to continue our efforts through the G-20 to
promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth across the global
economy by developing comprehensive growth strategies for the Brisbane
Summit. We aim at implementing the G-20 commitments to create a more
stable financial system. Fiscal sustainability in advanced economies
remains critical for a stronger and sustainable recovery. We also
welcome the ambitious G-20 agenda to fight tax evasion.

5. Today
we reaffirmed our commitment to conclude expeditiously a comprehensive
and ambitious Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that
will strengthen an economic partnership that already accounts for
nearly half of global output and supports three-quarters of a trillion
euros in bilateral trade, and almost 3 trillion euros in investment, and
13 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. We commit ourselves to
conducting these negotiations with clarity and in a manner that builds
support among our publics. The United States and the EU continue to
share the same goals spelled out in the February 2013 Final Report of
the High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth.

These goals
include expanding access to each other’s markets for goods, services,
investment, and procurement; increasing regulatory compatibility while
maintaining the high levels of health, safety, labour and environmental
protection our citizens expect of us; and formulating joint approaches
to rules that address global trade challenges of common concern. A
high-standard TTIP agreement will make us more competitive globally, and
boost economic and jobs growth, including for small and medium-sized
enterprises.

6. Even as we undertake this joint endeavour, we
underscore the importance of the World Trade Organization and the timely
implementation of the outcome of the 9th Ministerial Conference in
December 2013, including the Trade Facilitation Agreement. We call on
other negotiating partners to contribute to the prompt conclusion of a
balanced and commercially significant expansion of the Information
Technology Agreement (ITA) by offering commitments reflecting the high
level of ambition shown by the EU and the US. We also reaffirm our
commitment to achieving an ambitious Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA),
which should further advance services liberalisation and regulatory
disciplines.

7. Sustainable economic growth will only be possible
if we tackle climate change, which is also a risk to global security.
We therefore reaffirm our strong determination to work towards the
adoption in Paris in 2015 of a protocol, another legal instrument or an
agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all
Parties, to strengthen the multilateral, rules-based regime. The 2015
agreement must be consistent with science and with the goal of limiting
the global temperature increase to below 2°C, and should therefore
include ambitious mitigation contributions, notably from the world’s
major economies and other significant emitters.

We are
implementing our existing pledges and preparing new mitigation
contributions for the first quarter of 2015, mindful of the importance
of ensuring that mitigation contributions are transparent, quantifiable,
verifiable and ambitious. The EU and the United States demonstrate
leadership and are intensifying their cooperation, including: phasing
out fossil fuel subsidies, phasing down the production and consumption
of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the Montreal Protocol, in promoting
sustainable energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy, fighting
deforestation, and mobilizing private and public finance. We are
committed to ambitious domestic action to limit HFC use and emissions.

8.
Together with several other WTO members, we have pledged to prepare the
launch of WTO negotiations on liberalising trade in environmental
goods, which will make an important contribution to tackling key
environmental challenges as part of our broader agenda to address green
growth, climate change and sustainable development. We are convinced
this can make a real contribution to both the global trading system and
the fight against climate change, and can complement our bilateral trade
talks.

9. Energy is a key component in the transition to a
competitive low-carbon economy and achieving long-term sustainable
economic development. The EU-US Energy Council fosters cooperation on
energy security, regulatory frameworks that encourage the efficient and
sustainable use of energy, and joint research priorities that promote
safe and sustainable energy technologies. The situation in Ukraine
proves the need to reinforce energy security in Europe and we are
considering new collaborative efforts to achieve this goal. We welcome
the prospect of US LNG exports in the future since additional global
supplies will benefit Europe and other strategic partners. We agree on
the importance of redoubling transatlantic efforts to support European
energy security to further diversify energy sources and suppliers and to
allow for reverse natural gas flows to Ukraine from its EU neighbours.

We
are working together to foster competitive, transparent, secure and
sustainable international energy markets. We remain committed to close
cooperation on energy research and innovation in areas including energy
efficiency, smart and resilient energy grids and storage, advanced
materials including critical materials for safe and sustainable energy
supply, nuclear energy and interoperability of standards for electric
vehicle and smart grid technologies. This commitment extends to the
promotion of related policies that encourage commercial deployment of
renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, notably in power
generation and transportation. We agree to strengthen knowledge-sharing
on carbon capture and storage, and on the sustainable development of
unconventional energy resources.

10. We commit to expand
cooperation in research, innovation and new emerging technologies, and
protection of intellectual property rights as strong drivers for
increased trade and future economic growth. Our collaboration in the
space domain also contributes to growth and global security, including
on an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. We will
combine wherever possible our efforts as we did in the Transatlantic
Ocean Research Alliance and through the GPS/Galileo agreement. The
Transatlantic Economic Council will continue its work to improve
cooperation in emerging sectors, specifically e-mobility, e-health and
new activities under the Innovation Action Partnership.

11. We
reaffirm our commitment to complete secure visa-free travel arrangements
between the United States and all EU Member States as soon as possible
and consistent with applicable domestic legislation.

12. The
transatlantic digital economy is integral to our economic growth, trade
and innovation. Cross border data flows are critical to our economic
vitality, and to our law enforcement and counterterrorism efforts. We
affirm the need to promote data protection, privacy and free speech in
the digital era while ensuring the security of our citizens. This is
essential for trust in the online environment.

13. We have made
considerable progress on a wide range of transnational security issues.
We cooperate against terrorism in accordance with respect for human
rights. Agreements such as the Passenger Name Record and Terrorist
Finance Tracking Programme that prevent terrorism while respecting
privacy are critical tools in our transatlantic cooperation. We will
strengthen our coordination efforts to prevent and counter violent
extremism. We will continue looking for appropriate mechanisms to
counter the threats posed by fighters departing to Syria and other
unstable regions, who return home where they may recruit new fighters,
plan and conduct terrorist operations.

We also work to address
the threats posed by activities of groups contributing to instability in
these regions. We welcome our increasingly close cooperation in
building the capacity of partner countries to counter terrorism and
violent extremism within a framework of rule of law, particularly in the
Sahel, Maghreb, Horn of Africa region and Pakistan. We pledge to deepen
and broaden this cooperation through the United Nations, the Global
Counterterrorism Forum, and other relevant channels. We have also
decided to expedite and enhance cooperation on threats directly
affecting the security of EU and US diplomatic staff and facilities
abroad.

14. Data protection and privacy are to remain an
important part of our dialogue. We recall the steps already taken,
including the EU-US ad hoc Working Group, and take note of the European
Commission Communication of 27 November 2013 and President Obama's
speech and Policy Directive of 17 January 2014. We will take further
steps in this regard. We are committed to expedite negotiations of a
meaningful and comprehensive data protection umbrella agreement for data
exchanges in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal
matters, including terrorism.

We reaffirm our commitment in
these negotiations to work to resolve the remaining issues, including
judicial redress. By ensuring a high level of protection of personal
data for citizens on both sides of the Atlantic, this agreement will
facilitate transfers of data in this area. The United States and the EU
will also boost effectiveness of the Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement –
a key channel of cooperation in the digital era. In addition, we are
committed to strengthening the Safe Harbour Framework in a comprehensive
manner by summer 2014, to ensure data protection and enable trade
through increased transparency, effective enforcement and legal
certainty when data is transferred for commercial purposes.

15.
The Internet has become a key global infrastructure. We share a
commitment to a universal, open, free, secure, and reliable Internet,
based on an inclusive, effective, and transparent multi-stakeholder
model of governance. As such, we reaffirm that human rights apply
equally online and offline, and we endeavour to strengthen and improve
this model while working towards the further globalisation of core
Internet institutions with the full involvement of all stakeholders. We
look forward to the transition of key Internet domain name functions to
the global multi-stakeholder community based on an acceptable proposal
that has the community's broad support.

We acknowledge the good
expert-level cooperation developed in the framework of the EU-US Working
Group on Cyber Security and Cybercrime. We commend the political
success of our joint initiative to launch a Global Alliance against
Child Sexual Abuse Online, as the EU prepares to hand over the lead to
the United States, and we decide to tackle jointly the issue of
transnational child sex offenders. We reiterate our support for the
Budapest Convention on cybercrime, and encourage its ratification and
implementation. Building on all these achievements and guided by shared
values, we have today decided to launch a comprehensive EU-US cyber
dialogue to strengthen and further our cooperation including on various
cyber-related foreign policy issues.

16. The EU and the United
States have significantly strengthened and intensified their cooperation
on foreign and security policy. We will continue jointly to support the
promotion, protection and observance of human rights and the rule of
law, democratic transition, inclusive political processes, economic
modernisation and social inclusion around the globe.

17. In the
Western Balkans, and with the aim of enhancing regional stability, the
EU facilitated the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, leading to progress in
the normalisation of relations, notably thanks to the April 2013
agreement. We share our deep concern at the current political and
economic stalemate in Bosnia and Herzegovina and stand ready to assist
the country in bringing it closer to European and Euro-Atlantic
structures.

18. We support the ongoing process of political
association and economic integration of interested Eastern Partnership
countries with the EU, an expression of the partner countries’ free
choice. The Association Agreements, including their Deep and
Comprehensive Free Trade Areas, have the potential to support
far-reaching political and socio-economic reforms leading to societies
strongly rooted in European values and principles and to the creation of
an economic area that can contribute to sustainable growth and jobs,
thereby enhancing stability in the region. We support the democratic
path of the Eastern European partners, the resolution of protracted
conflicts and fostering economic modernisation, notably with regard to
Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, which are moving closer to signing
their respective Association Agreements with the EU.

19. In the
EU's southern neighbourhood, we are coordinating closely to assist
countries in transition in North Africa, including the worrying
situation in Egypt. We welcome the adoption of a new constitution
respectful of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Tunisia,
following an inclusive national dialogue. As agreed earlier this month
in Rome, we also aim to intensify coordinated assistance to Libya, a
country facing significant challenges to its democratic transition and
stability.

20. We have undertaken joint intensive diplomatic
efforts through the E3/EU+3 to seek a negotiated solution that resolves
the international community's concerns regarding the Iranian nuclear
programme. The strong and credible efforts of the E3/EU+3 that resulted
in agreement last November on a Joint Plan of Action, are widely
supported by the international community. Efforts must now focus on
producing a comprehensive and final settlement. The E3/EU+3 talks in
February in Vienna resulted in an understanding on the key issues that
need to be resolved, and in a timetable for negotiations over the next
few months. We will continue to make every effort to ensure a successful
outcome. We also jointly urge Iran to improve its human rights
situation and to work more closely with the United Nations and
international community to this end.

21. We fully support ongoing
efforts to reach a peace agreement in the Middle East. We stand ready
to contribute substantially to ensure its implementation and
sustainability. The EU has offered an unprecedented package of
political, economic and security support to the Palestinians and
Israelis in the context of a final status agreement. The current
negotiations present a unique opportunity to achieve a two state
solution to the conflict; this chance must not be missed. But for the
negotiations to succeed, actions that undermine them and diminish the
trust between the negotiation partners must be avoided and both sides
must take bold decisions to reach a compromise.

22. The Geneva
negotiation process is crucial for achieving a genuine political
transition in Syria. The onus is on the Syrian regime to engage
constructively with the process and take part in meaningful negotiations
towards political transition as set out in the Geneva Communique. Any
elections in Syria should only take place within this framework. We will
continue promoting efforts to alleviate the suffering of civilians;
including the 6.5 million people displaced, more than half of them
children, at risk of becoming a lost generation. We commend Syria's
neighbours for hosting 2.5 million refugees and recall the need to
maintain sufficient assistance. We demand all parties, in particular the
Syrian regime, allow unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid and
medical care country-wide and across borders and including areas under
siege, in full compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2139.

We
are concerned that there are delays in the transfer process of chemical
weapons out of Syria, and we urge Syria to comply with its obligations
under UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and the decisions of the OPCW
Executive Council to verifiably eliminate its chemical weapons program
in the shortest time possible. We will also continue, through the UN
human rights bodies, to press for an end to and accountability for the
grave human rights abuses and serious violations of international
humanitarian law in Syria.

23. We stress the importance of the
upcoming elections as an historic opportunity to further enhance
democratic transition, stabilisation and development in Afghanistan, and
recall the need to protect human rights gains, in particular for women
and girls, and to conclude solid security arrangements, including the
Bilateral Security Agreement. Continued progress on the commitments of
the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework will be needed to maintain
high levels of international support after 2014. We also recall the
importance of regional cooperation, notably the Heart of Asia initiative
and the New Silk Road, as a means to promote security, stability and
development in the region, and agreed to discuss this also in the
context of our dialogue on Central Asia.

24. We are deepening our
cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region to support efforts to preserve
peace, ensure stability, and promote prosperity. We work together to
encourage and support democratic and economic transformation, including
in Myanmar/Burma. We support ASEAN and its central role in establishing
strong and effective multilateral security structures, and we will
continue to play an active and constructive role in the ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF). We underline our support for a regional architecture that
is supported by shared rules and norms and that encourages cooperation,
addresses shared concerns, and helps resolve disputes peacefully. In
this context, we recognise the EU's experience in regional integration
and institution building, and welcome greater EU engagement with the
region’s institutions and fora.

25. Mindful that a maritime
regime based on international law has contributed to the region's
impressive economic growth, we reaffirm our commitment to the freedom of
navigation and lawful uses of the sea. We call on parties to avoid
taking unilateral action to change the status quo and increase tensions
in the region. In the East China Sea, we support calls for diplomacy and
crisis management procedures in order to avoid miscalculations or
accidents. In the South China Sea, we urge ASEAN and China to accelerate
progress on a meaningful code of conduct. We reiterate our calls on all
parties to take confidence building measures and to settle conflicts
without threat or use of force and by diplomatic means in accordance
with international law, including UNCLOS.

26. We call on the DPRK
to comply fully, unconditionally, and without delay with its
denuclearization commitments under the 2005 Joint Statement of the
Six-Party Talks and its international obligations, including as set out
in relevant UN Security Council Resolutions in order to work towards
lasting peace and security. We demand that the DPRK abandon all its
existing nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete,
verifiable, and irreversible manner and return to the NPT and IAEA
Safeguards. We also remain gravely concerned with the human rights and
humanitarian situation in the DPRK. While we welcome the meetings of
separated families, which should continue, and inter-Korean high-level
meetings, we urge the DPRK to address all the concerns of the
international community, including over its systematic, widespread, and
grave human rights violations, as recently documented by the UN
Commission of Inquiry.

27. We commit to work with all partners to
agree an ambitious post-2015 development agenda, anchored in a single
set of clear, measurable, and universally applicable goals. That agenda
should address the inter-linked challenges of poverty eradication and
sustainable development, including climate change; deliver on the
unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals; invest in
health, food security, nutrition and education; advance the sustainable
management of natural resources, sustainable energy and water
management, and inclusive and sustainable growth; promote peaceful and
safe societies, open and accountable governance, the rule of law, gender
equality and empowerment of women, girls and persons of disabilities,
and human rights for all; and revitalize a global partnership for
development. We underscore the central imperative of poverty eradication
and sustainable development in the interrelated economic, social and
environmental dimensions. We are committed to freeing humanity from
poverty and hunger as a matter of urgency.

28. Building on the
progress made through the EU-US Development Dialogue, we will continue
to utilize this forum to pursue cooperation and a division of labour to
build resilience and address food insecurity. Attention should also be
given to universal access to sustainable energy in Africa and other
underserved regions, through public and private investment, and
appropriate investment security. We agree to coordinate further our
support to the UN Energy for All initiative and our interventions under
the United States’ Power Africa initiative and the Africa-EU Energy
Partnership, with a view to formalizing this collaboration by the
creation of a partnership framework.

29. We are the world’s two
largest humanitarian donors; providing over 60% of all humanitarian aid
worldwide. When we join forces, we maximize our impact, leading to real
improvements in the lives of millions of people affected by humanitarian
crises, including refugees and other vulnerable persons worldwide.
Together, we have used our diplomatic influence to support humanitarian
agencies, to strengthen UN led coordination and safely reach millions of
people in need of assistance in situations of natural disasters and in
Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Myanmar/Burma, the Central African Republic, and other places where
armed groups have blocked or hampered access. We commit to continue this
robust, close, and frequent coordination in areas facing humanitarian
crises around the world.

30. Security and development are
inextricably linked, we will continue to deepen our dialogue in this
regard to frame and undertake complementary and mutually reinforcing
action. Working together and with other international, regional and
local partners, the EU and the United States strive to put this approach
into practice through early warning and prevention, crisis response and
management, to early recovery, stabilisation and peacebuilding, in
order to help countries to get back on track towards sustainable
long-term development.

31. We welcome the EU's efforts to
strengthen its Common Security and Defence Policy, particularly the
goals articulated at the December 2013 European Council for the EU to
contribute more effectively to peace and security, including by working
together with key partners such as the United Nations, the United States
and NATO, and to ensure the necessary means and a sufficient level of
investment to meet the challenges of the future. We will continue
working to strengthen fully EU-NATO cooperation, especially in early
consultations on crises and emerging security challenges such as
maritime, energy, and cyber security, as well as mutual reinforcement in
developing Allies’ and Member States’ capabilities. Strong, coherent
and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and NATO, in
compliance with the decision-making autonomy and procedures of each,
remains as important as ever, particularly in a time of constrained
budgets.

32. We also committed to enhancing practical EU-U.S.
security and crisis response management cooperation, particularly in
addressing crises in Africa. We work there together with partner states
and organisations such as the African Union and the United Nations in
diplomatic, political, development, economic, and other areas to promote
peace and security. We have worked together in training and supporting
the Somali National Security Forces. Naval forces of the United States,
NATO, and EU coordinate closely within the international efforts to
fight piracy off the Horn of Africa, and the EU has now succeeded the
United States as Chair of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of
Somalia for 2014.

The United States and EU remain deeply
concerned about the situations in the Central African Republic and South
Sudan, and are supporting African and UN efforts to stabilize these
countries. We also agreed that coordination of our efforts across the
Sahel and in the Gulf of Guinea and the Great Lakes regions will be
important to address the trans-national issues those regions face.
Furthermore, we will work respectively with partner states and
organizations to assist African partners in building the institutional
capacity for conflict management, prevention and peacekeeping, through
training and other measures designed to strengthen the resilience of the
security sector.

33. We reaffirm our joint commitments on
non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control. We stress the
importance of compliance with, and strengthening implementation of, the
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention
(CWC), and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and will work
closely together on preparations for the 2015 NPT Review Conference and
the 2016 BWC Review Conference. We underscore the importance of the
timely entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
(CTBT) and support to the CTBTO Preparatory Commission.

We
recall our continued interest in the commencement of negotiations on a
treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or
other nuclear explosive devices and look forward to the work of the
United Nations Group of Government Experts established to make
recommendations on possible aspects that could contribute to such a
treaty. We welcome implementation of the New START Treaty, look forward
to next steps, and encourage the P5 to continue their important
dialogue. We are determined to promote IAEA’s Comprehensive Safeguards
Agreement and the Additional Protocol as the universally accepted
Safeguards standard. We will work together to achieve the highest
standards of safety for peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and of nuclear
materials security, including as highlighted at the March 2014 Nuclear
Security Summit. We will also work together to promote the entry into
force of the Arms Trade Treaty in 2014.

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