(WASHINGTON, DC) — On Tuesday, July 10, 2012, Members of the US Congress and Members of European Parliament met on Capitol Hill to discuss counterterrorism efforts, cyber security, domestic security and global economic issues.  This meeting was the fourth meeting held by the Transatlantic Group on Counterterrorism, or TAG. 

One of the key topics of discussion was supply chain security, specifically as it relates to both Huawei and ZTE.  Both firms have well-documented and extensive ties with the People’s Liberation Army of China, and have appeared to provide sanctioned telecommunications equipment to the Iranian government. News broke Thursday that ZTE is under FBI investigation for such violations. 

In addition, attendees addressed several issues of concerns to transatlantic lawmakers, including the rise of radical movements throughout the Arab Spring, the necessity of supporting and partnering with secular, democracy-leaning groups in the Middle East, and the current state of al Qaeda, including in the Sahel area in Africa.

“This really was the most successful meeting we’ve had,” said TAG Co-Chair US Representative Sue Myrick (NC-09). “Our individual countries and the global community as a whole are facing so many issues right now, especially with regard to domestic and cyber security, and it was helpful to have everyone at one table, discussing how to keep our citizens, technologies and infrastructures safe”.  

This year’s attendees from the US Congress were:

US Rep. Sue Myrick (NC)

US Rep. Kay Granger (TX)

US Rep. Frank Wolf (VA)

US Rep. Bill Huizenga (MI)

US Rep. Jim Langevin (RI)

US Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC)

US Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (GA)

This year’s attendees from the European Parliament were:

MEP Jaime Mayor Oreja – Spain

MEP Burkhard Balz – Germany

MEP Maria da Graça Carvalho  – Portugal

MEP Mário David – Portugal

MEP Carlos Iturgaiz – Spain

MEP Eva Ortiz Vilella – Spain

MEP Krzysztof Lisek– Poland

MEP Sidonia Jedrzejewska – Poland

The goal of TAG is to create a working relationship between legislators from Europe and North America to address terrorism and the threat it poses to democracies.  The first TAG summit was held April 30, 2008, in Washington, DC. 

Click here for the conclusions and recommendations agreed upon by TAG co-chairs, Rep. Myrick and MEP Mayor Oreja, with input by the participants.

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