Brussels, 23/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Union and the United States are, at the summit on 26 June, to confirm their resolve to combat terrorism together. The EU/US Summit at Dromoland Castle (Ireland) will provide an opportunity to adopt a joint declaration the content of which was still under discussion on Wednesday between Europeans and Americans. The European Union insists that the declaration should mention the importance of tackling the root causes of terrorism. The US hopes above all that there will be a commitment to stamp out terrorist funding.
EU Member States had not yet come to an agreement on Wednesday on the way the commitment should be worded, mainly after the US request for a joint analysis of bank accounts supported by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands but rejected by the others, a European diplomat stated on Wednesday. The draft declaration mentions the roots of terrorism, and the importance of promoting democracy but Belgium especially calls for the text to be more specific and looks at the conditions that can be exploited by terrorist groups for recruitment of new members. The declaration will note progress made in transatlantic cooperation against terrorism, mainly the agreements on surveillance of containers in ports and on the transfer of aircraft passengers' personal data.