On Tuesday 4 October, US Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated the importance of the partnership between the EU and the United States.
In a speech lasting nearly an hour at the German Marshall Fund in Brussels, he stressed that transatlantic relations are not a trophy of the past to be admired, but a living and multifaceted enterprise that should be renewed with each generation and revitalised every day with energy, ideas, resources and collective willingness and determination. He went on to stress that there was a greater need than ever for unity between the two sides of the Atlantic.
Kerry stressed that the transatlantic partnership is vital to the security of the US and of the European states. He said that unity within the EU and the partnership between the US and the EU were absolutely essential to global prosperity and security. He referred at length to this cooperation, citing international policy by way of example: the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme, the agreement on climate change, development or the fight against so-called Islamic State (Daesh). Kerry also defended the draft EU-US free-trade treaty, which has come under fire in Europe, and the sharing of data. He called upon the European Parliament to vote for the agreement on the protection of data and privacy, stressing that this would help to make the progress required to share data in the framework of criminal and terrorist investigations, but stressed that he understood the misgivings of the Europeans regarding the collection of personal data. He said that data collection is the best way of preventing terrorists from communicating with impunity, crossing borders and taking innocent lives.
Kerry also once again reiterated his concerns regarding the British decision to leave the European Union. He explained that the US did not need less Europe or less UK, but more of both; more cooperation with the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU to tackle the demands of the citizens and the challenges facing our democratic societies. Kerry said that if reforms within the EU were necessary, breaking down the institutions created would be dangerous and short-sighted. He stressed that the US would support its friends on both sides of the English Channel in their work on the tough questions they are facing and that what is needed is the strongest possible EU, the strongest possible UK and a highly integrated collaborative relationship between the two. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)