Wow! Where did this come from? With one stroke of the pen, we have a big shift
in the world picture. Will a merger of the dollar and Euro be next on the
horizon.
I found this part really humorous:
The two sides also signed an Open Skies deal, designed to
reduce fares and boost traffic on transatlantic flights.
But little of substance was agreed on climate change.
How can anyone who is trying to boost transatlantic flights pretend they care
about reducing carbon emissions? It boggles the mind.
rkm
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Original source URL:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6607757.stm
US and EU agree 'single market'
The United States and the European Union have signed up to a new transatlantic
economic partnership at a summit in Washington.
The pact is designed to boost trade and investment by harmonising regulatory
standards, laying the basis for a US-EU single market.
The two sides also signed an Open Skies deal, designed to reduce fares and boost
traffic on transatlantic flights.
But little of substance was agreed on climate change.
However, EU leaders were pleased that the US acknowledged human activity was a
major cause.
Richest regions
Economics rather than the environment or politics was the focus of the summit,
says the BBC's Europe correspondent, Jonny Dymond, from Washington.
The two sides agreed to set up an "economic council" to push ahead with
regulatory convergence in nearly 40 areas, including intellectual property,
financial services, business takeovers and the motor industry.
The aim is to increase trade and lower costs.
Some reports suggest that incompatible regulations in the world's two richest
regions add 10% to the cost of developing and producing new cars.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the EU's rotating
presidency, said last month that if the US and EU could set business norms
today, they would "secure the markets of tomorrow".
Since she came to office 18 months ago, she has made repairing damaged relations
with the US a top priority.
Emission cuts
The Europeans said they were pleased that the US now officially acknowledged
that climate change was happening and that human activity was a major cause of
it.
"We agree there's a threat, there's a very serious global threat," said European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
"We agree that there is a need to reduce emissions. We agree that we should work
together."
But behind the scenes, says our Europe correspondent, officials were saying that
not much had changed.
Ms Merkel will try to nudge the US towards a global approach to climate change
before a G8 summit Germany is chairing in six weeks' time, says our
correspondent.
But the US has consistently rejected the European approach of imposing national
limits on greenhouse gas emissions, saying they would harm the international
economy.
Visa hope
The Open Skies agreement will take effect on 30 March 2008 and will allow EU
carriers to fly to anywhere in the US and vice versa.
The deal promises to lower airfares and widen choice for passengers on both
sides of the Atlantic.
The EU hopes to go further and create an "Open Aviation Area" between the two
sides "in which investment can flow freely and in which European and US airlines
can provide air services without any restriction," said a EU statement.
The EU is also hoping that the US will agree to withdraw its visa requirement
for travellers from a number of EU states.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6607757.stm
Published: 2007/04/30 23:21:16 GMT
© BBC MMVII
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