Strasbourg, 27/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 25 April, the European Parliament adopted a resolution from four political groups (EPP-ED, PES, ALDE and UEN) on transatlantic relations, which will be given new élan at the Washington summit on 30 April (see EUROPE 9414 on the Council and Commission's views and debate). With regard to politics, security and human rights, the EP reviewed the wide range of political problems of common interest, calling for new Quartet initiatives for the Middle East, highlighting the need for a viable solution for Kosovo. The EP says that terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction remain the greatest threat against which joint action would be appropriate, but with harmonised rules on the protection of human rights. The EP repeated the call for the Guantanamo detention centre to be closed down and while recognising that the sharing of information can be very useful in counter-terrorism, says that strong guarantees would facilitate the task of sharing information, and the information should be based on one or more international agreements. In this connection, the EP regrets that the agreements on PNR, SWIFT and the ATS system leave legal uncertainty about data protection but welcomes the recent creation of a high level working group of representatives of the Commission, the Council and the US justice and homeland security ministries. With regard to trade and the economy, the EP backs the German presidency initiative to launch a new partnership with a roadmap to achieve a transatlantic market without customs barriers, but wants this not to be achieved by a levelling down of social, environmental and health rules and for it not to oppose the autonomy and integrity of the EU's competition policy, or the protection of public services and cultural diversity. The EP also stresses the importance of convergence of financial surveillance practices, calls for both sides to work well on the Doha Development Round and respect the development-fostering approach, calls for developing countries' access to medicines to be facilitated, calls for cooperation on energy and energy security while respecting the environment, and welcomes state-level initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. When it comes to the institutional framework and the role of the European Parliament, the EP welcomes the strengthening of inter-parliamentary relations but, unlike the original draft, does not call for genuine 'transatlantic assemblies'. MEPs believe that every EU-United States summit should be preceded by a meeting where parliamentarians can be involved in the summit preparations. The EP wants sufficient funding to be voted through to create the position of a permanent European Parliament representative in Washington. (lg)