Participants included the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, together with the President-in-office of the European Council, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and US President George W. Bush. A number of EU Commissioners also participated as did the US Secretaries of State and Commerce. The goal of the TABD is to promote closer transatlantic ties and eliminate barriers in the transatlantic market. The TABD agreed to make recommendations to governments on four priority areas, one of which involves IFRSs. The priority areas are (1) open trade and security, (2) intellectual property rights and the fight against counterfeiting, (3) capital markets and International Accounting Standards, and (4) the World Trade Organisation and the Doha Development Round.