Brussels, 27/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU gave itself the means to implement a series of projects aiming to promote cooperation and trade relations with industrialised countries, in particular with the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan. The regulation adopted on Monday by the General Affairs Council removes the major failings in European legislation in terms of external relations, underlined Commissioner Chris Patten. For lack of an appropriate legal framework to implement the envisaged cooperation projects, notably in the framework of the new transatlantic agenda we cannot answer a growing need to tighten links with a few of our closest partners, he said. We are now able to engage ourselves in a whole range of fields, beyond the usual activities for relations between States, he was pleased to say.
The new regulation, which ends in 2005, foresees the financing (EUR 15.6 million in 2001) of activities linked to: - education and information to the public over bilateral relations between the Union and industrialised countries in North American, Asia and Pacific States; - the enhancing of inter-society, cultural and academic relations; - the promotion of political, economic and social dialogues between partners and NGOs; - research and studies able to contribute towards the development of bilateral relations; - the cooperation projects between partners; - the enhancing of customs cooperation; - the improvement of the Union's visibility in other industrialised countries (opening of EU centres); - pilot programmes able to lead to new regular activities. This regulation also provides the legal basis necessary for the continuation of programme for the promotion of trade between the Union and Japan, notably the "EU gateway to Japan" campaign to promote European exports and the executive training programme. As for the pilot training project for trade executives in Korea it becomes permanent.