270 DAYS SINCE THE POSITION OF US AMBASSADOR TO THE EU IS VACANT

The position of US Ambassador to the European Union has been vacant since 20 January 2017 when the US Ambassador resigned at the end of the Obama administration.

Yet, the United States and the European Union are essential partners in a turbulent world. On almost every significant regional and global issue of concern the EU is playing a key role.

Key issues (Alphabetical Listing)

1. Agreements for the exchange of confidential military information and the sale of goods and services by the Department of Defense to the EU Military Staff.
2. Brexit
3. Capital Markets Union
4. Clean Technologies (e.g. renewable energy, low-carbon technology, electric cars and batteries, digital infrastructures)
5. Counterterrorism strategy (agreements with the US on terrorist financing, transport and borders, and mutual legal assistance and extradition).
6. Cyber Security and Cyber Crime
7. Data Privacy
8. Digital Single Market
9. Fight against Terrorism
10. International Trade Agenda and expansion of the coverage of the Information Technology Agreement that eliminates tariffs on $ 1 trillion worth of trade in high tech products among 54 countries
11. Internet Firms
12. Iran
13. Middle East Peace Process
14. Migration, including border control, identification of refugees, resettlement and integration.
15. NATO
16. Negotiations in the Trade in Services Agreement.
17. Negotiations on the Environmental Goods Agreement
18. North Korea
19. Nuclear Proliferation
20. Reforming international structure and norms (UN System, IMF and World Bank, WTO, G20 and G7)
21. Research and Innovation Funds (through the European Research Council, and its grants reward the leading ideas from top US researchers who are willing to conduct much of their research in Europe.
22. Russian sanctions
23. Science and Technology (Collaboration in Marine and Arctic science, transportation technologies, nanotechnology, health research, and energy technologies.
24. Tax Policy
25. Transatlantic Relations
26. Ukraine
27. US -Europol collaboration in cracking down on online child sexual exploitation, human smuggling, drug and weapons trafficking, cybercrime even counter-terrorism. Fast information exchange, sophisticated intelligence analysis, coordination, expertise, and training
28. US-Eurojust collaboration (a “college” of experienced judges and prosecutors who facilitate international mutual legal assistance, extradition requests, and cross-border criminal investigations).

To ensure that relations remain robust, the EU and the U.S. have developed both formal and informal mechanisms to foster transatlantic cooperation. Dialogue takes place regularly at multiple levels, from the transatlantic leaders and their ministers/Cabinet heads to American and European officials who are in daily contact at the working level on issues of mutual interest.

Presidential summits:  held alternately in the EU and the U.S., take place regularly between the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council and the President of the United States. In conjunction with summits, leaders hold meetings of the Transatlantic Economic Council and the EU-U.S. Energy Council, two key mechanisms for fostering transatlantic cooperation in priority areas.

The Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) was established in 2007 to advance EU-U.S. economic integration by bringing together governments, the business community, and consumers to work on key areas where greater regulatory convergence and understanding can reap rewards on both sides of the Atlantic. TEC’s High-level Working Group on Jobs and Growth was set up in 2011 to identify policies and measures that would enhance EU-U.S. trade and investment and lead to mutually beneficial job creation, economic growth, and international competitiveness.

The EU-U.S. Energy Council provides a forum for the U.S. Secretaries of State and Energy and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (EUHR), the EU Vice-President for Energy Union, and the EU Commissioners for Energy and Climate to address the pressing challenges of energy security, sustainability, and climate change. The Council’s objective is to foster stable, reliable, and transparent global energy markets and coordinate regulatory regimes and research programs to speed the deployment of tomorrow’s clean and efficient energy technologies.

Thematic dialogues ensure that a wide range of actors contributes to the EU-U.S. policy process by encouraging legislators, businesspeople, consumers, scientists, academics, and citizens’ groups to build and sustain links with their transatlantic counterparts.

The Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) develops joint policy recommendations aimed at establishing a barrier-free transatlantic market with safe and efficient regulation that will serve as a catalyst for global trade liberalization and prosperity. TABD members include leading American and European companies both large and small and with strong transatlantic credentials. TABD is the highest forum of the Transatlantic Business Council (TABC), a crosss sectoral business association representing global companies with headquarters in the EU and the United States.

The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) champions the consumer perspective in transatlantic decision-making. EU and U.S. consumer organizations that constitute this forum ensure that key consumer priorities are promoted and advocated within the EU-U.S. regulatory and governmental processes. Annual TACD conferences, held alternately in the U.S. and the EU, produce recommendations in areas including food, trade, the information society, intellectual property, financial services, and nanotechnology issues.

The Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue (TLD) involves biannual meetings of the European Parliament and U.S. Congressional delegations along with a series of teleconferences organized on specific topics of mutual concern, including: creating growth and jobs through closer trade; improving investment and regulatory cooperation; enhancing collaboration on energy matters; and augmenting security and defense alliances. TLD promotes awareness of the transatlantic impact of legislation and regulations and fosters an ongoing and uninterrupted dialogue among legislators.