The summit took place under the chair of US President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Charles Michel. It was the second official high-level meeting since Biden took office in 2021.
Compared to the previous edition held in June 2021 in Brussels, Belgium, this summit took place in a more difficult context, as the US and EU are facing geopolitical challenges and conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.
This summit's agenda is somewhat overshadowed by “unexpected” events, especially the conflict between Hamas and Israel, which both the US and Europe want to prevent from prolonging or spreading into a regional war.
At the summit, US and EU leaders focused on discussing two issues that both sides have attached great importance to in recent times: ensuring energy security and combating climate change.
The two sides pledged to cooperate, exchange and promote the application of new technologies and platforms, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce fossil fuels, develop a green economy, and use clean energy. They also discussed the possibility of minerals mined and refined in the EU, which could enjoy some exemptions under the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The summit discussed ways towards a more secure and stable world, as well as conflicts breaking out in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.
Concluding the summit, the two sides issued a joint statement with 34 points, emphasising that the US and EU and its member countries, representing nearly 800 million citizens, united by their values and bound together by the most dynamic economic relationship on earth, reaffirm our commitment to a transatlantic partnership.
The joint statement identifies two main pillars of cooperation, including security, with a focus on a more secure, stable world and strengthening US-EU economic cooperation.
US and EU leaders emphasised the importance of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council, committed to strengthening the transatlantic marketplace to support decent jobs and economic opportunities, with an emphasis on mutually beneficial resilience and sustainability of our supply chains.
Regarding relations with other partners and regions, the two sides reiterated their shared commitment to enhancing coordination and cooperation to support a free and open Indo-Pacific region, as well as their support for the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They agreed to strengthen security and defence cooperation with emerging and developing economies.
Evaluating the summit, experts said that the US-EU relationship is closely linked in many fields. The EU has long been placed in a very important position in US foreign policy, but the two sides cannot avoid disagreements and even fierce competition, in the fields of economics and trade.
Since President Biden came to power, US-EU relations have improved significantly with many high-level visits, and the two sides have made efforts to resolve trade disagreements, to ensure supply chain stability.
In general, public opinion expects this summit will create important momentum for bilateral relations in the coming time.
Although it has not yet resolved all obstacles in bilateral relations, nor reached breakthrough agreements on entangled issues, this US-EU Summit has created an opportunity for leaders of the two sides, to directly discuss a series of pressing issues in the world.
