Resolution submitted by JEF Political Commission 3: External Affairs and Global Governance. Adopted by the European Congress in Paris on 27 October 2019 as “Protecting the value-based partnership with the US”. Re-adopted by the Federal Committee in Luxembourg on 10 April 2022. Amended, renamed and readopted by the Federal Committee in Budapest on 10 November 2024.

The growing interest of the United States in other relevant areas of the world, the persistent demand to redistribute the cost of European defence security among members of NATO, the tendency of recent US administrations from both major political parties to implement protectionist policies also towards the EU, as well as the divergences on the multilateral international system, have created fractures in EU–US relations.

These divergences have created a need to reimagine the EU–US partnership based on mutual parity, common aspirations and priorities.

JEF Europe,

• Acknowledging the long-standing relations between the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (US), based on mutual values and goals;
• Recognising that during the last years the EU and the US diverged in many relevant issues, especially in the international arena;
• Noting with concern the vulnerability of the US democracy, threatened by a strong social polarisation, an increasing use of violence in social and political contexts, and the weakening of the defences of the rule of law, as shown by the attack on Capitol Hill in January 2021 and the restriction of women and minorities’ rights in some Federal States;
• Recognising that the political shift in the United States heralds a dangerous and tumultuous future. One in which the European Union will not be able to rely on the United States as a guarantor of its security or as a reliable global partner;
• Regretting the US’s non-membership of the International Criminal Court, which is the most advanced instrument of international jurisprudence to combat international crimes in the context of the global fight against impunity;
• Regretting the US tendency to develop separate foreign relations with single European Member States instead of considering the EU as its main counterpart, for example creating discrimination among European citizens, for example in the case of the visa policy;
• Noting that despite the traditional role as guarantor of multilateralism and international law played by the US – alongside the EU -, its foreign policy has not been fully committed towards multilateralism in many global contexts;
• Acknowledging the global shift towards a more multipolar international system ruled by force – characterised by many growing regional powers such as China, India and Russia – which weakens multilateral governance and the influence of democratic powers such as the EU and the US;
• Noting the limited focus on cooperation on higher education and vocational training between the EU and the US in the Erasmus+ programme;
• Recognising the mutual benefit of scientific and technological cooperation between the US and the EU in the Horizon Europe;
• Recalling the leading and decisive role of the EU and US to reach a global consensus on the Paris Agreement that offers the world a framework for protecting our planet and fighting climate change, despite its temporary withdrawal;
• Recalling the resolution “Establishing a European Security and Defense Union” and calling for a solid common European Foreign and Security policy, which, fuelled by common defence capabilities, could represent, with the NATO alliance and within the UN framework, a pillar to prevent crises throughout the world and contribute to building a safe and prosperous international society;

Therefore, JEF Europe,

1. Calls on the EU to take primary responsibility for European security, to commit to strategic autonomy and to strive for parity with the United States;
2. Calls on the EU to maintain and, where possible, deepen relations with the United States based on parity, mutual strategic autonomy and shared common
   values and principles including democracy, the rule of law, safeguarding of human rights and freedom of the press, in accordance with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights;
3. Calls on the EU’s Member States, considering the shift in the US focus of interest to other areas of the world, to substantially boost a common EU Foreign Policy through increased resources, stronger strategic autonomy and to safeguard regional and global cooperation by taking over more responsibility, particularly in the neighbourhood;
4. Calls on the EU to maintain and strengthen cooperation with US allies who become alienated through an “America first” foreign policy to ensure that these states remain in the democratic sphere;
5. Underlines the urgency of the European Union to build a European Security and Defence Union, which would enhance the influence of European Member States within NATO, allow a stronger capability of defending European countries and promoting EU values independently from the US engagement in
   the long term;
6. Calls on the EU Member States to maintain solidarity with Ukraine irrespective of US policy and be prepared to take the driver’s seat in upholding sanctions on Russia and supporting Ukraine. Furthermore, the EU should take all necessary steps to pressure the US to maintain and increase its financial, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine;
7. Demands from the EU to promote with the US the rule of law and democracy against internal and external pressure and threats. This will also necessitate that the EU be willing and able to criticise and call out the US when their actions run contrary to the preservation and spread of democracy at home and abroad;
8. Calls on the EU and the US to take effective coordinated action towards a general reform of the UN system, according to the resolution “Building a World Federation and Democratic International Institutions”;
9. Calls on the EU and the US to take effective coordinated action in the UN Security Council and General Assembly to address global policy issues, increase their annual contribution to the UN budget, and prepare for the prospect of the EU’s single-seat.
10. Calls on the EU to get the US to stop blocking the appointment of new judges to the Apellate body of the World Trade Organisation, so it can restart its work to settle trade tensions and disagreements;
11. Urges all EU Member States to stand in solidarity and unity vis-a-vis the US and to avoid direct bilateral relations that ignore EU institutions;
12. Also urges the US and EU to make real progress for the international economy by advancing their multilateral commitments and concluding advanced trade agreements and economic partnerships with other international actors;
13. Calls on the EU to reopen negotiations on a new value-based trade and investment agreement between the EU and the US, with a strong commitment to EU standards and environmental sustainability;
14. Calls on the EU to protect its economic interests against US protectionism until and unless an agreement with the US can be reached. Nevertheless, the EU should also attempt to avoid a trade war with the US which would risk destabilising the global economy;
15. Calls on the EU and the US to build a stronger international system for climate and environment protection, according to the Resolution “Environment Does Not Stop at Borders: Towards a Sustainable Europe and a Sustainable Global Climate Policy”;
16. Calls on the EU to increase cooperation on equal footing on higher education, vocational training, cultural and professional fields, in the Erasmus+ programme in order to promote mutual understanding between EU and US citizens;
17. Calls on the EU to increase EU–US scientific and technological cooperation, especially in research and innovation areas contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.