EU-US to work for de-escalation in East Med, vaccinate two thirds of world by end of 2022

The EU and the US are set to endorse a joint declaration during their summit on June 15 in Brussels, for a “renewed transatlantic partnership” that will also work for sustainable de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean, it emerged on Wednesday.

According to a draft text, tabled to the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (Coreper), which was obtained by CNA, the declaration briefly refers to Turkey and working together in the region “where differences should be settled through dialogue in good faith and in accordance with international law of the sea”.

“We aim for a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with a democratic Turkey,” it added.

In the text the EU and the US also endorse the aspiration “to vaccinate at least two thirds of the world’s population by the end of 2022” and “encourage more donors to make 2 billion vaccine doses available worldwide by late 2021.”

In the same text the two sides “reject authoritarianism in all its forms around the globe, resisting autocrats’ efforts to create an environment that protects their rule and serves their interests, while undermining liberal democracies.”

According to the draft, “the United States and the European Union”, who represent “780 million people who share democratic values and the largest economic relationship in the world”, recognise “a chance and a responsibility to help people make a living and keep them safe, fight climate change, and stand up for democracy and human rights.”

“We laid the foundations of the world economy and the rules-based international order after World War II based on openness, fair competition, transparency, and accountability. Some of the rules need an update: to protect our health, our climate and planet and to ensure democracy delivers and technology improves our lives,” the agreed draft states.

The US and EU also said they stand united in their principled approach towards Russia and are “ready to respond decisively to its repeating pattern of negative behaviour and harmful activities, which Russia must address to prevent the further deterioration of relations including on the list of so-called unfriendly states”.

They said they would establish an EU-US high-level dialogue on Russia while condemning its continued actions to undermine Ukraine’s and Georgia`s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.