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Map of Europe |
Winter 2001 Volume 2 - Number 1
The New U.S. Administration and Europe
The Future of Trade Negotiations
While the new Bush administration's policies on European issues have yet to take form, many Europeans are concerned about the future of the Transatlantic relationship. Three specialists in international relations assess the current state of U.S. world leadership.
A Testing Time Ahead for U.S.-EU Relations
Quentin Peel
International Affairs Editor, Financial Times
Many Europeans had hoped for a victory by Vice President Al Gore in November's elections, if only for the sake of continuity. They are now scrambling to prepare for the new Bush administration, which has inherited a number of serious U.S.-EU trade disputes from the Clinton era. There are also likely to be Transatlantic tensions over U.S. plans to build a defense against incoming ballistic missiles and over the EU's plans to create its own rapid reaction force.
U.S. and Europe Must Work to Keep on Course
W. Bruce Weinrod
Managing Director and General Counsel, International Technology and Trade Associates
Both the United States and Europe must make special efforts during this period of European transformation to ensure that disagreements on specific issues do not impair the overall Transatlantic relationship, particularly in the roles of Transatlantic and European security organizations.
Bill Clinton's Legacy: Make Trade, Not War
Patrice De Beer
Washington Correspondent, Le Monde
An assessment of President Clinton's legacy should credit him with creating a key place for international trade in U.S. foreign policy. The Clinton Administration, seeking to adapt the concept of international relations to globalization, replaced Cold War concepts of containment with themes of enlargement and engagement. Despite notable successes, however, not all of Clinton's policies prevailed.
Leader in Focus
The EU Means Business in Foreign Policy
Chris Patten
European Commissioner for External Relations
The European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy has finally begun to take form and make real progress. In order to continue this progress, Europe must pursue increased cooperation with a stronger NATO. The EU can make concrete contributions to peace and stability in the Balkans and in its relations with Russia. But the EU's policies are by no means confined to the European and Atlantic regions.
European Integration
The EU's Treaty of Nice: A Disappointment But Not A Disaster
Michael Smith
Brussels correspondent, Financial Times
The outcome of the EU's gruelling summit meeting in Nice, like many EU compromises, frustrated both those in favor of closer European integration and those against it. The complex institutional reforms adopted after lengthy wrangling will be difficult to sell to the general public. But they at least achieve the summit meeting's main objective, which was to open the door to the EU's enlargement.
Special Report
NATO Industrial Cooperation
The ability of the Alliance's forces to work together effectively has come into question after the difficulties experienced during the Kosovo war. Interoperability of forces has become a crucial objective for NATO, as it prepares for new missions beyond its traditional role of static defense. The defense industries on both sides of the Atlantic agree that they must respond to the Alliance's needs. Views, however, differ on the best way to proceed.
Soldiers Will Pay If We Don't Cooperate Better
Christian Shore
Director for International Policy, Raytheon Company and Chairman, U.S. Delegation to the NATO Industrial Advisory Group
Although Europe advertises its Common Security and Defense Policy as a building block for a stronger NATO, many Americans are suspicious of Europe's true motives. Greater Transatlantic understanding will be necessary to find a way out of what increasingly appears to be a competitive or even confrontational European stance. While the United States should lead in restoring good communications and understanding, it is up to Europe to show that it is willing to carry its share of the load.
Atlantic Partners Must Collaborate on Defense Equipment
Steven McCarthy
Counselor, Defense Supply, British Ministry of Defense
With NATO's ever-increasing importance, it is more critical than ever that the United States and the EU be able to cooperate across the Atlantic. Reciprocal trade, as well as increased defense coordination, is necessary for interoperability. Governments must relieve industry from unnecessary bureaucracy, which lessens its maximum potential. The UK is actively pursuing this agenda, in collaboration with the United States.
Germany Will Play Its Role - in EU and NATO
Colonel Achim Lidsba
German Ministry of Defense
Germany is pursuing a three-pronged approach to modernizing and strengthening its armed forces. The first is the reform of its internal force structures, the second is the establishment of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, and the third is strengthening NATO. The aim is to synchronize these three objectives, which all lead essentially in the same direction, and ensure greater "cooperability" between German, European, and Alliance forces.
Military Coalitions Must Strive for Interoperability
Major General Daniel Bastien
French Defense Attaché and Former Advisor to the President of France
The Kosovo conflict provided both the United States and the European members of NATO with insight into the effectiveness of the military Alliance. The shortfalls in cooperation that became evident between the forces of the various members, and between different services within the forces of individual members, has highlighted the need for increased interoperability in the Alliance in the future.
In The News
Bush Will Push For Market-Oriented Reforms in the Energy Sector
William F. Martin
Chairman, Washington Policy and Analysis Inc.; Senior Advisor for Platform, Bush/Cheney Campaign
Energy policy, both domestic and international, will be one of the first challenges facing the new Bush administration. While Mr. Bush believes the 1999 Kyoto Protocol on global warming was a bad deal, he takes the problem of air pollution seriously, and intends to seek a reduction of CO2 emissions by continuing to support nuclear power, by re-licensing dams and hydroelectric projects, and by allowing access to federal lands for natural gas production. As the European Union seeks to improve relations with oil-producing countries, a common understanding of sanctions against Iran and Iraq is needed.
Finance and Banking
Policy Implications of a Global Economy: A View from the ECB
Sirkka Hämäläinen
Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
The policy objectives mandated for central banks are still domestic, even though financial markets have become global. Does this mean that economic policies should be globalized? The answer should be to coordinate positions on basic economic rules and overall objectives rather than on macroeconomic policies. Individual countries should concentrate on keeping their own houses in order. While a single world currency might ultimately make sense, the time for it is far from ripe.
Monetary Policy: Working Together Across the Atlantic
Henry Willmore
Chief U.S. Economist, Barclays Capital
European and U.S. monetary policies should be coordinated to prevent the emergence of a "zero sum game" when EU and American interests appear to differ, and to avoid or manage mistakes made by financial markets. The European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve must show they are serious about working together by transmitting coordinated messages to the markets.
The Euro: Britain Will Need More Time
Alasdair Murray
Director, Economics and Social Policy Unit, Centre for European Reform
Britain's reluctance to join the euro zone is based less on economic reservations than on stubborn anti-euro sentiment amongst British voters. Although the British economy is far more suited to euro entry than many of the 11 countries that joined in the first wave, it seems that only a substantial economic slowdown will hasten Britain's euro membership.
The Euro Needs a Single European Financial Market
Stewart Fleming
European Business Editor, London Evening Standard
Two years after the launch of the European single currency, the European Union is tackling the fundamental challenges of increasing the productivity of its capital. As highlighted in the recent Lamfalussy report, the EU must match its single currency with a unified single financial market if it hopes to benefit fully from the euro. Companies must be able to function as easily within the Union as within their own domestic markets.
Agriculture and Food Safety
A New Missile Crisis?
The EU is Ready for Broad Negotiations on Agricultural Reform
Corrado Pirzio-Biroli
Head of Cabinet, Commissioner Franz Fischler
European agriculture is unique, but the Common Agricultural Policy has now reached the limits of its effectiveness. Reform is necessary, especially with regard to further multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organization. There are both similarities and differences between European and American attitudes to agriculture, as the EU prepares to take in new members and food markets are globalized.
Energy and Technology
The steep rise in energy prices last year has once again brought into question the U.S. and European dependency on imported energy supplies. It is also hastening the development of alternative energy sources.
No Crisis, But EU Needs an Energy Strategy
Pierre Lepetit
Consul-General of France to the United States (Houston) and Senior Energy Adviser to the French Embassy
Widespread protests against high fuel taxes across Europe during the fall of 2000 may have suggested that Europe was on the brink of a new oil crisis. On the contrary, the outlook for the European Union is good. We must, however, change current thinking about the oil market, and prepare for the challenges that lie ahead, including establishing a common framework for taxing energy products, more clearly thought-out relations with OPEC, sanctions policies, and the recent investment slowdown in the oil and oil services markets.
A Non-Nuclear Germany Seeks Stable Energy Supplies
Hartmut Schneider
Deputy Director-General for International Energy Relations, German Ministry of Economy and Technology
The recent rise in oil prices, as well as tension in the Middle East, have made energy policy even more politically sensitive. German projections for 2020 show a rise in the use of gas, a slight decline for coal and a big drop in nuclear power. Oil is likely to remain stable, while use of new and renewable energy sources will double. In addition to safety considerations, there are good economic reasons for Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power.
For One Company, Fuel Cells Are The Future
Dr. Ferdinand Panik
Vice President, Head of Fuel Cell Project, DaimlerChrysler AG
DaimlerChrysler is on the brink of a breakthrough toward revolutionary new fuel cell drive systems for vehicles, which produce few to no emissions. While consumers have so far been unwilling to sacrifice convenience, or to pay more, for environmentally advanced vehicles, fuel cell-driven vehicles will increasingly match the power, design, and performance of traditional automobiles. The challenge now is to remove political obstacles that stand in the way of large-scale production.
Opinion
Al Gore's Loss Was Not A Defeat For The Third Way
Jenny Bates
International Economist, Trade in the New Economy Project, Progressive Policy Institute; and Steven J. Nider, Director, Foreign and Security Studies, Progressive Policy Institute
In this time of unprecedented prosperity, victory for Vice President Al Gore in November's presidential election should have been a foregone conclusion. His defeat, however, should not be interpreted as a rejection of the Third Way philosophy - whereby a middle course is steered between the extremes of left and right. While there is concern on the left that the Bush victory will have a domino effect - knocking down center-left governments throughout Europe - long-term prospects for Third Way ideas, both in the United States and in Europe, remain promising.
Book Reviews
Britannia Waves Goodbye
The Abolition of Britain. By Peter Hitchens
Reviewed by Reginald Dale
Worthy Ideals, But Not For Now
Democracy in the European Union. By Dimitris N. Chryssochoou. Democratizing the European Union. By Catherine Hoskyns and Michael Newman, editors.
Reviewed by Michael D. Mosettig
Some Good News From The Russian "Laboratory"
Transitional Citizens: Voters and What Influences Them in the New Russia. By Timothy J. Colton
Reviewed by Shaazka Beyerle
Letters to the Editor