Brussels embraces Obama

 

“Historic” is on everyone's lips when describing the US election. As President-elect Barack Obama starts to build his Administration we asked leading MEPs Wednesday for their views on the US election and what challenges lie ahead in EU-US relations.

European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering congratulated Mr Obama in a letter, in which he said the election proved: “once again the extraordinary capacity for renewal which has so often been evident at difficult moments in American history.” He said he looked forward to a fresh look at relations with the US and invited Mr Obama to address MEPs.
 
British Conservative MEP Jonathan Evans - who chairs the EP delegation to the US - said, “The American electorate needs to be congratulated. Their exercise in democracy has enthused the whole world and most certainly us in Europe”.
 
The Polish Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski said both sides could work together: “on global challenges such as the financial crisis, climate change, energy security, the Middle East and terrorism.”
 
The head of the Liberal ALDE group Graham Watson sees the overriding responsibility of the new president in marking a route for handling climate change. In a press release he said, “The US has to learn that soft power with a strong leadership will always triumph over a military power.”
 
The greatest wish for Greens leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit is that the US takes a lead on negotiations for a new Kyoto protocol on climate change. He was jubilant about the election result. “Today marks the end of an era of American cowboys. The whole world can identify itself with this vote and Americans can be proud of what they have achieved.”
 
Vice-chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Czech MEP Libor Rouček said that climate change, economic malaise, weapons of mass destruction and the fight against terrorism were areas he thought both sides should work together on.
 
Italian MEP Vittorio Agnoletto is on Parliament's delegation to the US. He told us that “Obama's victory will have a worldwide effect of decreasing racist policies” which discriminate “against people of different ethnicity and different skin colour”. 
 
The head of the Arab League Amr Moussa, in parliament as part of Arab week, said, “We all need change - and that is what we expect of the new leader of the US. We need a change in the American approach to the Arab world”.
 
The US Ambassador to the EU Kristen Silverberg told us, “this enthusiasm on both sides of the Atlantic” could be turned into“ actual action” to work together. She stressed the importance of issues like Afghanistan, climate change, the financial crisis and trade.
 
An international agreement on climate change and the financial crisis are likely to be high on Obama’s agenda, said Ms Silverberg.
 
Speaking to the press on Wednesday morning, the US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker said the next US President would expect a greater “European contribution on peace and security issues” - especially in Afghanistan.
 
It was nearly 0500 CET when the US TV networks proclaimed Barack Obama winner of the election.