Brussels, 12/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Washington on Friday 9 October for the first formal meeting of the Transatlantic Economic Council, Europeans and Americans, under the aegis of the European commissioner for industry, Günter Verheugen, and of the economic policy coordinator to President Bush, Al Hubbard, adopted a declaration summarising the main progress of their work since the last EU/United States summit on 30 April (EUROPE 9418 and 9539). On the subject of investment, the parties launched a dialogue aiming to reduce barriers and promote open investment regimes. On the mutual recognition of accounting standards, Washington confirmed the commitment of the US Securities and Exchange Commission to finalise a legislative project in the very near future, in order to relax its accounting rules and allow European companies to be quoted on the American market without having to convert their accounting into American accounting standards (US GAAP), given that Europe prefers the IFRS standard. For its part, the European Commission confirmed preparations for a mechanism to allow the use of US GAAP standards on the European markets. On the security, safety and facilitation of trade, the parties have drafted a roadmap for mutual recognition of their trade partnership agreements between now and 2009. On health, the parties agreed on the adoption of simplified procedures for orphan drugs for the treatment of rare diseases. Lastly, the parties concluded a preliminary agreement, at expert level, recognising the compatibility of existing standards for biofuels. On the European side, the Commission has committed to resolve definitively, before the next EU/United States summit and on the basis of the appropriate scientific advice, the question of the import of American chickens slaughtered and cleaned with chlorinated water into the EU. It has also undertaken to present a legislative proposal allowing access to information for patients on legal pharmaceutical products, and a legislative proposal to authorise imports into the EU of products marked with both metric and imperial measurements. On the American side, the US Federal Communications Commission has pledged to carry out a review, in 2008, of its list of products which are subject to obligatory third-party testing in order to validate declarations of product conformity made by suppliers more quickly. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration is to draft a report on progress made towards a relaxation of conformity assessment procedures for the safety of electronic equipment, and thus facilitate transatlantic trade in these products. (E.H.)