Brussels, 21/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - The day after President George W. Bush's inauguration, a European Commission spokesperson on Friday welcomed the American President's positive declarations on his intention to relaunch relations with the European Union. “We welcome the indication given by Mr Bush that his administration will seek strengthened relations with the European Union. We are happy to note it”, said Françoise Le Bail to the press. “The fact that Mr Bush has chosen Brussels and the European Union for his first visit abroad (22 February) at the start of his second term is a sign of the importance that his administration wants to accord to relations with the European Union”, she said. The EU High Representative for the CFSP, Javier Solana, expects that the EU and the USA will take a “more pragmatic approach” in their bilateral relations and their efforts to resolve world problems during Mr Bush's second term.
The current state of relations with Washington is good, it is not like it was in 2003 (in the midst of the crisis over the war in Iraq), Javier Solana said in an interview with the agency EFE.