United States ambassador Nancy McEldowney and her French counterpart Etienne de Poncins have spelt out in speeches to the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria (AmCham) their visions for the US and EU working hand-in-hand to overcome the global economic crisis.

Speaking an AmCham event on December 16 2008 on the theme of "US-EU transatlantic relations: addressing global economic challenges", McEldowney said that there was a new imperative for the EU and US to act together against the crisis.

In remarks signalling just how much relations have changed since the nadir between the US and France at the time of the 2003 Iraq invasion, McEldowney praised the "visionary leadership" shown by Nicolas Sarkozy's France during its current presidency of the EU.

"Everyone who cares about the future of Europe is in the debt of France," she said.

Quoting the expression "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste," McEldowney said that together the US and EU could respond to the crisis by doing more than just stimulating economic growth but also by promoting political, social and economic reforms.

De Poncins said that the crisis meant there was a need "to work together and not against each other".

Europe and America could work together in a way that promoted effective multilateralism.

Europe's expectations about the future administration of president-elect Barack Obama were very high, he said, adding that as the world's two most powerful economic and political powers, the US and EU must work hand-in-hand.

"President-elect Obama will find in the EU a good and reliable ally," De Poncins said.

Speaking during the question-and-answer session, Solomon Passi, head of the Bulgarian Parliament's committee on foreign policy, said that what he called the "Sarkozy-Obama tandem" had created "great expectations" for the potential of transatlantic links.