The European Parliament brings together the democratically elected representatives of the European Union's 375 million citizens, whilst the US Senate and House of Representatives legislate on behalf of 270 million Americans. Members of the European Parliament and the US Congress meet regularly to exchange views on a wide range of issues relating to the New Transatlantic Agenda including areas such as EU enlargement, the euro, the promotion of democracy in countries such as Cuba and other matters of common interest.
During the 50th meeting of delegations from the European Parliament and the United States House of Representatives it was decided to adopt the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue (TLD) proposal. In practical terms, the initiative foresees the establishment of a series of additional contacts, including biannual teleconferences, appointment of committee liaisons persons and the setting up of a dedicated website.
The progress has already led to the first of the twice yearly contacts with members of the Senior Level Group (SLG) prior to the EU-US Summits foreseen in TLD. This first meeting between MEPs, US Legislators and members of the Senior Level Group took place on 6 May 1999, at the margins of the SLG meeting in Washington. On this occassion, legislators reviewed progress in the implementation of TLD and received a detailed update on the state of the EU-US relations. Even more importantly, they gave special attention to the 'early warning' dimension of TLD, with respect to any future legislation or regulations with the potential to cause friction between the EU and the US. Efforts continue to set up a dedicated website; as well as to organize the first of the biannual teleconferences between the EP and the US legislators foreseen in TLD.