Considers that it is crucial for the EU and the US to realise the untapped potential of a truly integrated transatlantic market, in order to maximise the creation of decent jobs and stimulate a smart, strong, sustainable and balanced growth potential; considers this to be particularly timely in the light of the ongoing economic crisis, the state of the financial markets and financing conditions, the high level of public debt, high unemployment rates and modest growth projections on both sides of the Atlantic, and of the benefits offered by a truly coordinated response to these shared problems;

This EU Drugs Strategy takes into account relevant UN political documents, including the UN Political Declaration and Action Plan on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem, adopted in 2009, which states that drug demand reduction and drug supply reduction are mutually reinforcing elements in illicit drugs policy and the UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS.

4. The Parties reaffirm the commitment of Member States and the United States to apply the balanced approach principle.

Several Member States such as Belgium, Ireland, Spain and the UK are now tackling the issue of gender-balanced political representation.

Internationally, the need for a balanced and multidisciplinary comprehensive response has been recognised by the United Nations for fifteen years now.

- The United Nations Agreement on Straddling Stocks and Highly Migratory Species (1995) and the FAO Code of Conduct on responsible fishing refer to the concern to prevent the rate of exploitation from rising above a level that would allow maximum balanced yield (Maximum Sustainable Yield). [1] The debate in the NAFO takes the same approach.