The EU Summit is over and the concluding statement contains strong wording on the Kyoto Protocol.

EU-US Summit & EU Council Meeting

A lot of important events with relevance to the climate negotiations are scheduled to take place in June 2001. After the Council of the EU's Environment Ministers on the 7th and 8th of June (conclusions here), the issue will be particularly present when US President George W. Bush, who openly opposes the Kyoto Protocol, pays his first visit ever to the European Continent to take part in the EU-US Summit (n the 14th in Goteborg, Sweden. Public protest is meeting him on every step.

• EU-US summit ends with Bush's final "thumbs down" to Kyoto
• Goteborg Council debates sustainable development strategy also: ECCP report released

Read more stories here.

The semi-annual EU Council meeting will then take place on Friday and Saturday the 15th and 16th of June in Goteborg. Sustainable Development is one of the major items on the agenda, preceeded only by talks on enlargement. CNE has sent a letter to the heads of states and governments of all 15 EU Member States, urging them to take the matter of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol seriously and go ahead with implementation of its climate targets.

Finally, the UNFCCC secretariat has confirmed that a high-level informal meeting, chaired by Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk, will take place at the end of June in The Hague, Netherlands as preparation to the follow-up of CoP6, scheduled for the end of July in Bonn, Germany. A Consolidated negotiating text (FCCC/CP/2001/2) has also been released. News report here.

This page will take you to relevant websites (follow highlighted text above) and gives an overview of the most recent developments.

Direct Links:

Environment Council (conclusions, climate section)- EU-US Summit (EU preparatory press release) - EU Council - "Bush WANTED" Campaign - CNE special: CoP-6bis- The road to Bonn

NGO reactions

• Dutch NGOs urge the government to action on the Kyoto Protocol ( press release in Dutch) (June 2001)
• CNE's Open letter to the Heads of Government of the EU15 prior to the EU Summit in Goteborg (30th May 2001) link to the official website of the Summit
• CNE and Major Belgian Environmental Groups - Open Letter to Belgian Prime Minister on Belgian national climate plan (29th May 2001)
• Open Letter to the EU Council Goteborg on the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy (pdf) (link to the Commission document - A Sustainable Strategy for a better world (pdf))
• US environmental groups condemn Bush's action - letter to world environment ministers (April 2001)
• CNE, GP, WWF, FoE  letter on US rejection of KP (30th March 2001)
• CNE Press Release on Bush backing down on campaign promises  (March 2001) (pdf)

Recent news- see also here

• NAS Tells Bush Global Warming Is Real Problem (Washington Post)
• U.S. Study by the National Academy of Science (NAS) Warns Bush of Global Warming (link to report, authors)
• Pro-Kyoto business lobby gets underway
• Denmark To Ratify Kyoto Protocol
• Kofi Annan slams Bush on climate change
• Bush plans energy explosion - US energy plan revealed links to energy plan and commentaries
• UK Minister pledges to go  without US on KP if necessary
• New Zealand unimpressed by US stand on KP

US withdrawal from Kyoto Protocol - Developments

• 61% of Americans support the Kyoto Protocol - ABC News poll
• With or without US EU will support Kyoto Protocol Statement by Prodi and Persson
• European Parliament resolution urges EU to ratify Kyoto Protocol quickly
• Alliance of Small Island States statement on US withdrawal from Kyoto Protocol
• EU continues to urge early ratification of KP and condemns US position againPresidency press release after New York informal meeting, 22nd April 2001
• Pronk Paper April 2001
• Prodi and Persson statement. EU will support Kyoto Protocol with or without US
• European Parliament resolution strongly condemns US withdrawal from KP
• US State department archive of global press reaction
• Worldwide reaction to US position on KP
• Bush speech to Senators. (U turn on CO2 emissions) (13th March 2001)
• Bush backs off from campaign pledge on CO2 emissions (includes link to text of letter

First Summit between EU leaders and US President George W. Bush

IP/01/826

Brussels, 12 June 2001

First Summit between EU leaders and US President George W. Bush

On 14 June 2001 European Commission President Romano Prodi and Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson, the current President of the European Council, will meet US President Bush in Göteborg, Sweden. This will be the first Transatlantic Summit since the new US Administration took office. Leaders and top officials will hold several working sessions, and will meet representatives of civil society. Mr Bush will then meet the EU Heads of State and Government participating in the European Council, taking place the following day in Göteborg. The Göteborg Summit will be particularly significant, not only because of the importance of the subjects to be treated, but also because it will provide the first opportunity under a new US Administration for both sides to consolidate their relationship and to give it a new momentum. The EU and US have a shared interest and responsibility to work together on a growing number of global, economic, and political challenges, including on issues such as climate change, where there have been recent high-profile differences.

European and US leaders will be accompanied on the EU side by Commissioners for External Relations, Chris Patten, and for Trade, Pascal Lamy, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh and Trade Minister Pagrotsky for the Presidency, and Council Secretary General and High Representative Javier Solana. On the US side high level participants will include Secretary of State Colin Powell, USTR Robert Zoellick, Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, and National Security Advisor Condolezza Rice. The Summit will provide an opportunity to build on high level discussions which have already taken place on a number of occasions since President Bush took office.

Items on the agenda :

As well as climate change, other prominent subjects on the Summit's agenda include:

• cooperation in the Middle East
• joint promotion of peace and democracy in the Western Balkans
• and discussions on action against Communicable Diseases in Africa.

Trade issues will occupy an important place in the discussions, in particular joint efforts to launch a new Round of WTO trade negotiations in Quatar in November. The Summit will also provide an opportunity to review outstanding trade irritants and to welcome the recent resolution of certain longstanding disputes, and the will is to be expressed to find more quickly a solution to bilateral disputes.

Other issues on the agenda include US extraterritorial sanctions legislation, and support for the process of peace and reconciliation in the Korean peninsula.

Leaders will meet representatives from the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) and the Transatlantic Consumers Dialogue (TACD), two fora for dialogue and the promotion of civil society participation in the Transatlantic Agenda, supported by both EU and US public authorities.

After the Summit, the US President will meet over dinner the 18 Heads of State or Government gathered in Gothenburg for the European Council, to analyse the current state of play of the Transatlantic Community and its future.

Summit leaders are expected to adopt a joint statement, reaffirming the importance of the transatlantic partnership and outlying the priority issues within a framework of medium-term strategic themes on which tangible progress will be sought by the time of the next EU-US Summit. This new focus had been inspired by recent launch of a communication by the Commission on how to reinforce transatlantic relations to strengthen and adapt the partnership for the years ahead. The objective is to streamline EU-US co-operation, rendering it more efficient and action-oriented at all levels.

Being the first such encounter between the EU leadership and US President Bush, the Gothenburg Summit should serve to reinforce the EU-US partnership and define a constructive path for pursuing bilateral concerns and the many issues of common interest to us in different parts of the world. As Commissioner Patten recently said, "no-one shares our vision, our history, and our values as much as the United States. With no-one else do we have such a wide range of common interests, such a fine-meshed network of co-operation at all levels of society and such a strong economic base to build on." The Commission is confident that the Summit's results will reflect this unique relationship, giving a new impetus to EU-US cooperation, and contributing to global progress.

Background

EU-US Summits came into being as a result of the 1990 Transatlantic Declaration, which gave new momentum to the EU's relations with the US. The New Transatlantic Agenda (NTA, 1995) took cooperation a step further, from simple consultation to joint action.

At Summits, past EU-US cooperation is reviewed and evaluated at the highest level, and new plans for joint action are adopted. Not only do Summits serve to resolve existing problems: they are also essential to prevent misunderstandings arising that can lead to avoidable transatlantic disputes. Summits provide focus for decision-makers and a timetable for joint EU-US action. In general, Transatlantic Summits are outstanding opportunities to make progress in areas of mutual interest, to the benefit of citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.

Websites : http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/us/intro/index.htm

Statement of C. Patten on Transatlantic Relations at the European Parliament on 16.5.01(pdf)

Speeches of P. Lamy on EU/US trade relations of 31.05.01 and 07.06.01(pdf)