 Americas
acceptance in Europe
The issue has been raised
many times and debated constantly – the
critical relationship between Europe and the
U.S. Does the E.U. need the U.S.? Is Europe
growing towards and more powerful stability?
Does the E.U. need anyone? With the increased
membership of countries it is no wonder why
issues like this one is brought up.
The E.U. believes it has many
contributions to make. But after years of schism
caused by the war in Iraq, the question is weather
or not Europe is willing to continue efforts
to work with the second Bush Administration?
Or can it go on it alone? French President Jacques
Chirac made one of the most controversial declarations
of European independence: "Now more than
ever, [Europe] has the need, the necessity,
to strengthen its dynamism and unity when faced
with this great world power," Spanish Prime
Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
told Der Spiegel that Europeans should "have
faith in the prospect of becoming the most important
global power in 20 years." Of Europe's
three most prominent antiwar leaders, only German
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder urged the chance
of cooperation. Do these leaders know what they
are talking about? What reinforcement do they
have for such statements?
No matter which way Europe goes,
it can't avoid the U.S. America's power and
strategic reach, it will always be a major factor.
But Europeans are pessimistic about the chances
for improved relations with the U.S. Some say
the E.U. should become a counterweight to America.
In the U.S. German Marshall Fund's Transatlantic
Trends survey, conducted in June, 71% of Europeans
polled said the E.U. should become a superpower
like the U.S. But almost two-thirds of them
wanted the E.U. to cooperate with the U.S. rather
than compete with it. The main opinion around
the idea that Europe can compete with America
just wasn’t right. Or is it?
The war in Iraq has demonstrated
America's dominance — and the limits of
its power. Though it can win the military battle,
Washington needs international help to ensure
that Iraq becomes a stable, peaceful country.
International collaboration is also crucial
to other global challenges, such as terrorism
and global warming. For Karsten Voigt, the coordinator
for German-American relations in the German
Foreign Ministry, a stronger E.U. is one that
doesn't define itself "against the United
States," but rather "as a partner
of the U.S." But if the Bush Administration
isn't ready to treat the E.U. as a serious partner
— and if the Europeans remain unwilling
or unable to offer credible alternative policies
— what some have dismissed as an unhappy
blip in transatlantic relations could deepen
into a permanent depression. That won't be good
for Europe, America or the planet.
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