28/02/2013

_ FAES Foundation provided the report which updates its proposal for the creation of a free trade area between Europe and the US

_ Aznar, Mayor Oreja, García-Legaz, Palacio and Gemayel, amongt others, participated in the seminar

_ FAES’ report will be presented shortly in Madrid, Washington and Brussels

_ In addition to this, the seminar analysed the democratization and institutional building after the ‘Arab Spring’

 José María Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain and President of FAES Foundation, closed the joint FAES -EIN seminar on democracy and institutional building after the ‘Arab Spring’ and the creation of a transatlantic prosperity area. During this event, held at the headquarters of the Foundation on March 1st, FAES provided a report that retakes and updates its proposal for the creation of a free trade area between Europe and the United States.

Jaime Mayor Oreja, Vice-President of the Popular Group in the European Parliament and Chairman of EIN, the think tank and foundation network linked to EPP, and Javier Zarzalejos, FAES Secretary-General, opened the seminar. Jaime García-Legaz, Secretary of State for Trade, Amine Gemayel, Former President of the Lebanon, Ana Palacio, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mario David, head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the Maghreb, Luis G. Moreno, Minister Counsellor of the US Embassy in Spain, Leonard J. Cali, Vice-President of Global Public Policy for AT&T, Amira Khalifa, General Director of the Egyptian think tank Information and Decision Support Center, IDSC, and Benita Ferrero Waldner, EU-LAC Foundation’s president, also participated in this event.

TRANSATLANTIC PROSPERITY AREA
Today, Friday 1st March, Aznar closed the session dedicated to the transatlantic prosperity area, in which FAES provided the new report which sets forth the creation of a free trade area between Europe and United States, drawn up by the Secretary of State for Trade, Jaime García-Legaz, and the executive director and chief of Market Strategy of the US Trust Bank of America Private Wealth Management, Joseph Quinlan. The document will be presented shortly in Madrid, Washington and Brussels.

In addition to Aznar, García-Legaz; Mayor Oreja; Luis G. Moreno, Minister Counsellor of the US Embassy in Spain; Leonard J. Calli, Vice President of Global Public Policy for AT&T; and Benita Ferrero Waldner, EU-LAC Foundation’s president also took part in the meeting.

FAES report on the transatlantic free trade area retakes and updates a proposal that the Foundation had already made in a previous document, published in 2006. This second edition expands and specifies the global strategy for the growth and strengthening of the union which Europe and United States should undertake at a time when it is more necessary than ever, given the emergence of new powers and coalitions, to work to avoid a reduction of both regions influence.

FAES advocates in this report that the Transatlantic Free Trade Area is a historical opportunity to build the biggest area of economic prosperity in the world. The profound economic crisis Europe and United States are suffering has shown the integration extent of both powers’ economies, as well as the importance of the transatlantic economy in a global context and the relevance that the relationship between Europe and United States has for their respective societies.

AFTER THE ‘ARAB SPRING’
The first day of the FAES-EIN seminar, held on Thursday, March 28th , focused on democracy and institution building after the ‘Arab Spring’, and had as speakers, amongst others, of Amine Gemayel, former President of the Lebanon; Ana Palacio, former Minister of Foreign affairs; Mario David, head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the Maghreb; Amira Khalifa, General Director of the Egyptian think tank Information and Decision Support Center, IDSC; Thomas Birringer, Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s team leader for Africa and the Middle East; and Carlos Echevarría, UNED’s professor of International Relations.

Secretaria de Estado de Cooperación Internacional y para Iberoamérica