US elections: a fresh impetus for the EU-US partnership.

The Chairman of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul, and Christian Ehler, Chairman of the EU-USA Delegation in the European Parliament, have congratulated the re-elected President of the United States, Barack Obama for his success in these elections:

"We wish you every success in the challenging role which you take on at this crucial time. We look forward to the US and EU working together in an effective partnership on many of the global issues facing decision-makers on both our continents. We believe that only a strong America together with a strong Europe can guarantee peace and prosperity in this century."

"Our common values, our common beliefs in the rule of law, in democracy, in freedom, in a free social market economy - all of these things bring us together. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU this year and to US President Barack Obama in 2009 reinforces our joint responsibility for global stability and the enlightened values we both believe in. We share President Obama's belief that 'America has no better partner than Europe'. Today we cannot rest on our past successes but rather we have to move forward and strengthen our partnership", said Joseph Daul.

"We trust that President Obama will be a close ally for the European Union and we are looking forward to continuing our fruitful cooperation, in particular regarding possible negotiations on an EU-US Free Trade Agreement based on the outcomes of the High Level Group on Jobs and Growth. The European Parliament has actively pushed for the formation of such a High Level Group and will play an active role in promoting and supporting an EU-US Free Trade Agreement", said Christian Ehler MEP.

The EPP Group Chairman underlined the need for setting a more ambitious challenge: "As the world's two largest economies and as each other's most important trading partners, we should focus more on how we can continue to grow our economies and create quality jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. We urgently need to implement a genuine transatlantic single market, based on the four freedoms which already exist in Europe - the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, we must rethink the regulation of the markets. We should be bold and work towards a harmonised regulatory framework that would make a genuine transatlantic market a reality."