On 13 November, ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen delivered a keynote speech on the future of transatlantic relations in the post-US elections era. The webinar – hosted by ANO Insitute of Politics and Society in cooperation with the European Liberal Forum and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom – welcomed speakers such as Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, EU Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová and ALDE Party Vice-President and Vice-President of the European Parliament Dita Charanzová MEP.

In his intervention, President van Baalen underlined the importance for the European Union to act tough on security and defence issues and highlighed the potential opportunities to establish trade agreements. The election of Joe Biden is a great opportunity for Europe to reconnect with the United States on climate change and sustainability, van Baalen noted and concluded:

“Joe Biden will be a bi-partisan President and that is hugely important. It cannot go unnoticed that more than 70 million Americans voted for Donald Trump and therefore it is crucial to unite the United States of America.”

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš praised the long-standing history between his country and the United Sates. He looks forward to the future cooperation with the new US administration and underlines the importance of trade relations and complying with international agreements like the Paris Climate Agreement, while keeping our industries competitive.

“We should be able to guarantee that big countries like India and China are also reducing emissions as they promise. We are also looking forward to more active United Sates cooperation in WTO and United Nations,” Prime Minister Babiš said.

EU Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová is confident that a new chapter of US-EU partnership will re-iterate common values such as the freedom of expression, tackling disinformation and free elections. These are all part of the European Democracy Action Plan, which Vice-President Jourová has planned to launch by the end of the year. She also believes in data protection and Artificial Intelligence as constructive basis to intensify the transatlantic relations. In her concluding remarks, she stated:

“It is clear that our partnership remains as relevant as it always was. There are many fields we can contribute with the United States for a better world and I am confident that recent developments can renew the partnership and tackle together the challenges on basis of our shared values.”

In her remarks, ALDE Party Vice-President and Vice-President of the European Parliament Dita Charanzová MEP underlined the importance for the European Union to act as a sovereign entity and to align with close partners, like the United States, on strategic economy and security. With the US and the EU hold 50% of the world economy, Charanzová sees the current situation as an opportunity to rethink Europe’s priorities as. She aims to build trust and to set a clear economic program to increase European markets. 

“After four disruptive years we will have a steadier partner in Washington. Now it is not the time to sit back and relax, we need to assess our priorities and construct a positive transatlantic agenda,” she concluded.

You can re-watch the Conference here or below.