Brussels, 07/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Congratulating American President Barack Obama on his re-election on 6 November, Europeans have said that they look forward to strengthening cooperation between the EU and the United States. “We look forward to meeting President Obama at an early date in order to reconfirm our priorities and provide renewed impetus to our joint action”, the presidents of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, say in a press release, adding that the United States is “a key strategic partner of the European Union”. “We look forward to continuing the close cooperation established with President Obama over these last four years, to further strengthening our bilateral ties and to jointly addressing global challenges”, they say. They also want to continue to work to unlock “the unparalleled potential of the transatlantic market” and are “ready to continue our intense cooperation in foreign policy issues and in the promotion of our common values”.
Parliament united. The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, also said he was looking forward to building on the “solid and comprehensive” transatlantic relationship. “We must face the challenges that confront us across the Atlantic” - promoting peace and consolidating democracy, fighting terrorism and climate change, enhancing sustainable development and energy security, maintaining free trade and improving multilateral governance, he added. He said that the ¨Parliament will work together with the US leadership to ensure a transatlantic single market is completed by 2015.
In the opinion of the S&D leader, Hannes Swoboda, Obama's re-election is “great news, not only for the US but for the world as a whole and for Europe in particular”. “The re-election of Barack Obama is an important step forward for the progressive agenda around the world.”
The leader of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul, and the leader of the delegation for EU-US relations, Christian Ehler, hoped “that the United States and the European Union will work in close partnership to find solutions to the global challenges with which the leaders of our two continents are confronted. Only a strong America and a strong Europe can together guarantee peace and prosperity for the 21st Century”, they said.
“We must move forward and strengthen our partnership”, said Daul. Ehler spoke of their conviction that President Obama will be a close ally of the EU, saying they welcome this opportunity to continue their constructive cooperation. Daul was of the view that the EU and the United States must focus on ways to make their economies grow, create jobs and implement, as a matter of urgency, an authentic barrier-free transatlantic market. The president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Martin Callanan, was of the same opinion. Callanan said: “The Transatlantic Alliance is a significant force for peace, prosperity and security across the world. It needs constant effort to maintain and strengthen”. In his view, the EU must ensure that the United States does not shift its economic and geopolitical attention away from the EU towards the Pacific. ALDE Group President Guy Verhofstadt called on the Republicans to work in concert with Obama in order to give fresh momentum to growth and employment. He explained that “Europe and the world need a coalition of the willing to overcome the global crisis”.
International congratulations. The French and Cypriot presidents, the British prime minister and the German chancellor, among others, also expressed their congratulations. François Hollande said this was an important moment for the United States but also for the world as a whole, adding that the election is a clear choice in favour of an open, united America that is fully committed on the international scene and aware of the challenges that our planet faces for peace, the economy and the environment. David Cameron said on Twitter that he was looking forward to continuing work with Obama, while, in a press release, Angela Merkel spoke of their close and amicable collaboration over recent years, saying she appreciated in particular their many discussions to overcome the global economic and financial crisis.
Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General, was delighted to be able to continue working with Obama, underlining that he is counting on the United States' “active participation” in raising the many remaining challenges. Thorbjorn Jagland, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, welcomed Obama's re-election and said he was counting on the cooperation of the US administration for supporting their common efforts in favour of human rights, democracy and rule of law. (CG/transl.fl/jl)