During his trip to Washington on Wednesday 25 July, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker underlined the importance of transatlantic relations and the need to renew the partnership between the EU and US given that the relationship has not been the best since US President Donald Trump arrived in power.
"Now is the time for a responsible global leadership. Time to renew our partnership by falling back on what unites us: trust, values, shared interests. The transatlantic partnership must remain the anchor of global stability and the driver of our common prosperity", Juncker said in a speech on transatlantic relations being at a crossroads, which he gave to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) a few minutes after his meeting with Trump. This partnership "is as indispensable today as it ever was before", he said.
In Juncker's view, while the partnership has evolved and developed in many different ways over the years, "one thing has always remained constant: the relationship between the United States and the European Union is a unique one". "It is built on shared history, shared values, shared interests. Working together makes us both safer and more prosperous", he said. Juncker particularly highlighted the common history, saying that this showed "the indissoluble link that makes the transatlantic partnership what it is".
"The fact is that the United States and European Union must cooperate on issues of common interest. We share the same challenges and the same opportunities", Juncker stated. "The challenges we face are global in nature, from the pressures of climate change to migration, to peace and security across the world", he said. He added that the EU is ready to work with all partners that share the same ideas in order to create new opportunities and improve the global system itself. The US and EU have clear differences of opinion on climate change and Iran.
Disregarding the differences, "whatever future lies ahead", the transatlantic partnership "must continue to be a driving force for both sides and for the world", Juncker stated. "As was reaffirmed by the US Congress just last year on the occasion of our 60th anniversary, the transatlantic partnership is enduring. We have been through thick and thin together, through different administrations and political cycles. Our friendship runs much deeper than that", he said. The US has always been "the strongest ally and a supporter of European integration", Juncker stated, despite Trump having repeatedly criticised the EU. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)