The US ambassador to the EU, Mark Gitenstein, gave his support on Tuesday 24 January to the holding of a summit between the European Union and the United States in 2023.
“I personally strongly support having a summit this year and I am optimistic we will get there this year”, he said at a hearing in the European Parliament.
According to him, only at a high-level meeting can the issue of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) be resolved. “Ultimately, there needs to be resolution at the leadership level between the US President and the EU leadership, as well as your [EU member states’] leaders”, he explained. Although the ambassador had not mentioned the IRA in his opening remarks, he was questioned several times by MEPs and admitted that in recent weeks he had been working only on this subject.
Like others before him, he reiterated that the IRA was primarily a national security issue for Washington, which needed to secure its supply of materials for the transition.
More broadly, the US diplomat stressed the importance of transatlantic relations. He said that while since the June 2021 summit and an “ambitious roadmap to reshape the course of transatlantic history” there have been many changes, “one thing remains constant: the US and the EU are more united than ever in our commitment to securing democracy and free markets and fighting autocracies in Europe and around the world”.
Mr Gitenstein also spoke about the war in Ukraine, saying that “Europe has proven to be an essential security partner alongside NATO and the transatlantic alliance has drawn closer than ever”. He stressed that coordination in terms of sanctions, export controls, humanitarian aid and the delivery of military equipment remained “essential and had a major impact on the course of the war”.
The ambassador also highlighted the cooperation between his country and the EU on China and in the Western Balkans, stressing in particular that the Balkans was one of President Joe Biden’s priorities. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Léa Marchal)