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E.U. Ambassador Praises European Relationship with U.S.

At a lunch this week hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Dublin, Ireland, the European Union Ambassador to the United States of America, John Bruton, said it is important to keep in mind the wealthy economic relationship between the European Union and the United States. Mr. Bruton said the cross-Atlantic relationship between the EU and America is worth an estimated $2.5 trillion, and the EU?s member states account for almost a third of the global economy.

Said Bruton, "We should be mindful of the fact that there are more European investments in the state of Texas than US investments in China and Japan combined. American companies obtain three times as many profits from their investments in just one European country, Ireland, as they do from all their investments in China." Bruton also says that European investments are as important to the U.S. as American investments are in Europe, and that a important factor driving this successful collaboration is the unique nature of the European Union.

"The EU is unlike any organization in the world. It is made up of 25 nations, with 450 million consumers that have come together so decisions on some specific matters, such as trade, can be made on behalf of all of them. The result, from an American standpoint, is a virtually trouble free, $1 billion a day trade relationship. From an EU viewpoint, together, as 25, we carry more weight than if we approach the US separately."