30/04/2013

_ He has called for a free trade agreement Europe-US which includes Latin American countries

_ “That is what the Atlantic alliance is about: about working together to face the fundamental challenges the 21st Century has in store”

_ “The TAFTA is a real possibility. An agreement is in our grasp. We can reach it. And this book tells us how”

_ “It takes hard-work and a clear political will to uphold true freedom and prosperity and extend them to the rest of the world”

_ “Together we can provide certainty to the world. Together we can overcome economic difficulties and stimulate growth”

José María Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain and president of FAES Foundation, stated that “In a global scenario where competition runs rife the best way forward is to move closer: closer together and closer to the values that distinguish us” and added “Let us make the Atlantic a true cradle for freedom, democracy, stability and prosperity in the world”. Aznar delivered these statements during the presentation of the FAES report TAFTA. The Case for an Open Transatlantic Free Trade Area in Washington, which updates the Foundation’s proposal to create a free trade area between Europe and the United States. “That is what the Atlantic alliance is about: about working together to better face the fundamental challenges the 21st Century has in store”, he said.

Aznar said that this is “an extraordinary opportunity” to “join both sides of the Atlantic, creating the largest economic and commercial alliance in history, a vast area of free-trade that would benefit millions of people around the globe”. “For many years, a transatlantic free-trade agreement was seen as impossible. Not any more. The TAFTA is now a real possibility. The US Administration and the European Union have finally decided to start negotiations. An agreement is in our grasp. We can reach it. And this book tells us how.” he stated.

Aznar has referred to the proposal contained in the FAES report prepared by the Secretary of State for Trade, Jaime García-Legaz and the executive director and head of Market Strategy of the U.S. Trust Bank of America, Joseph Quinlan, as “a gigantic move forward in commercial, economic, political and geo-strategic terms”. In this sense, he stressed that no study published to date “is so comprehensive, so convincing or so useful. It not only provides all the intellectual and economic arguments for a transatlantic free-trade area. It also outlines the steps, decisions and measures that need to be taken in order to get it working.” “It is a real road-map”, he said.

MAINTAIN LEADERSHIP
During his speech, he said that “the centre of gravity of the world economy is shifting. It is moving from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but also across traditional borders that now appear anachronistic”. “Local economies are integrating in supranational blocks. They are benefiting from trade agreements to gain scale and become increasingly competitive” Aznar added, who also asked “are we really doing our best to maintain our leadership?”

Beginning with Europe, Aznar said that “With its imperfections, the European Union has been considered a model of economic integration in many places around the world.” “the Euro, is indeed a historic achievement and should be recognised as such” he said, before insisting that “the Euro was not an end in itself but the beginning of a journey towards European integration”. Aznar, even though recalling that “In the past 50 years, European citizens have enjoyed a degree of liberty, mobility and welfare”, he regretted that the situation in Europe is “far from idyllic. Like other areas of the world, Europe is suffering a deep economic crisis, which is taking a very heavy toll on the middles classes – the backbone of our societies.”

“However, the crisis is also opening people’s eyes to reality. It is no longer possible to ignore reality or duck responsibility” Aznar said, to whom “Being realistic and responsible means accepting that we need to address the debate over the future and limits of our welfare states. Recognising that we need to move much faster and much deeper in the process of European integration, taking real steps towards a full financial and banking union. and reaching an ambitious free-trade agreement with the United States that can one day also include those countries of Latin America that have shown their commitment with freedom, democracy and the values of an open society”.

SHARED VALUES
In the words of Aznar, the road to a free trade area between Europe and the United States “will not be easy. No great enterprise ever is. The obstacles are high and the impediments, many”. “And, yet, I am convinced all these obstacles can be surmounted. It just takes two things: a lot of hard-work and a clear political will to uphold a paradigm of true freedom and prosperity, and extend it to the rest of the world.” he said. In his opinion, “Strengthening the Atlantic alliance and opening it up to other freedom-loving Nations of Latin America is not only in the best economic interest of our citizens. More fundamentally, it is in the interest of the values we share: representative government, the Rule of Law, free-market and civil society”.

Aznar said that on both sides of the Atlantic “We share the same interest in surmounting our present economic difficulties and promoting prosperity for our people. And we share the same concerns for the future and the same enemies.” “In Spain we are very well acquainted with the brutality of terrorism and we know just how important international cooperation is, both for preventing acts of terrorism and for bringing terrorists to justice” Aznar said, who also expressed his sorrow for the victims of the recent Boston bombings.

“The 20th Century saw the US and Europe stand together, and suffer together for the sake of freedom in the world. The spirit of that common endeavor must never be forgotten or lost. Together we can provide certainty to a fast-changing world; we can overcome economic difficulties and stimulate growth; and we can better take advantage of the many opportunities that the 21st Century already offers”, he declared.

The launch and presentation was held in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington and has benefited from the intervention of the Vice-President of External and Legislative Affairs, AT & T, James W. Cicconi. The subsequent round table discussion, chaired by the former Director of Personnel and Budget of the White House, Joshua B. Bolten, involves Spain’s Secretary of State for Trade, Jaime García-Legaz, the Foreign Trade Deputy Representative of the U.S., ambassador Miriam Sapiro, the former congressman and president of the Transatlantic Dialogue for the European Union, Cliff Stearns, and the executive vice president and head of International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Myron Brilliant.

ATLANTIC COUNCIL CEREMONY
On Wednesday, May 1, during his stay in Washington, Aznar also attended the annual leadership awards celebration granted by the Atlantic Council of the United States, as a member of its International Advisory Board since 2007. The prestigious American think tank has been promoting leadership and engagement in foreign policy affairs for over 50 years, on the basis of transatlantic cooperation and international security.

The event was attended, like every year, by prominent international figures from politics, economics and the arts, including the former Secretary of State of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, both award winners of this edition.

 Secretaría de Estado de Cooperación Internacional y para Iberoamérica