Strasbourg, 24/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the plenary debate and vote on its own-initiative report adopted at the end of February by the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee (EUROPE 9848), Francisco Millán Mon (EPP-ED, Spain) informed the press in Strasbourg on Tuesday 24 March of his key proposals to strengthen transatlantic political cooperation, following the election of US President Barack Obama. According to Mon, the response to global challenges (climate, energy security, world governance and economic and financial crisis), together with questions of regional security (Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan etc) require a new common policy approach and a new “transatlantic partnership”, which will replace the “New Transatlantic Agenda” of 1995. The report by Mr Mon proposes a new institutional architecture alongside the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) set up in 2006, particularly the creation of a Transatlantic Political Council (TPC), a senior advisory and coordination body for foreign and security policy meeting up every three months with the EU high representative for the CFSP (and future vice president of the European Commission) and the US secretary of state, as well as a joint parliamentary committee. The report by Francisco Millán Mon also calls for annual bilateral EU-US summits, as opposed to the single one currently held. (E.H./transl.rh)