EU Newsbrief: EU-U.S. Summit Highlights Strong Coordinated Position on Ukraine

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Delegation of the European Union to the United States

Mar 26, 2014, 06:45 ET

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Meeting in Brussels today, leaders of the European Union and the United States stressed the need for continued strong transatlantic cooperation on a wide range of issues including trade, energy security, and the Ukraine crisis.

"Events in Ukraine and elsewhere go to show that there are many unsettling uncertainties," said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy following the EU-U.S. Summit. "That is why the solid certainty of the transatlantic relationship is so crucial. It is the bedrock to face these challenges: a bond of friendship, tested by history. And that bond is shock-proof."

U.S. President Barack Obama emphasized that "Europe, including the European Union, is the cornerstone of our engagement around the world. We are more secure and we are more prosperous, the world is safer and more just, when Europe and America stand as one."

Beyond foreign policy, discussions also covered energy security, climate change and the economy, including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Calling it an agreement among equals, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso stressed the importance of TTIP in giving a decisive injection of dynamism to the transatlantic economy and "increase the potential for growth, not only for big business, but also for small and medium-sized businesses, for every household there are great potentials in terms of job creation on both sides of the Atlantic, if we do it right."

This was President Obama's first visit to the European Institutions in Brussels. He will return in June for the G7 Summit.

More information:
http://www.euintheus.org/press-media/next-eu-us-summit-on-26-march-2014/

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States