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Map of Europe |
Fall 2002 Volume 3 - Number 4
Transatlantic Relations
U.S. and Europe Must Change Security Policies
Jack Spencer
Policy Analyst, Davis Institute, The Heritage Foundation
The United States and Europe have common interests in adopting new strategies to prevent attacks from terrorists and aggressor nations. Since September 11, President George Bush's proposals for the preemptive use of military force have prevailed, first of all against Iraq. Diplomacy and deterrence will not be enough to counter the threats of the 21st century.
A Breathtaking Assertion of Pax Americana
Brian Crowe
former Director General for External and Politico-Military Affairs, Council of the European Union
The notion of preemptive attack to head off an imminent danger, as advocated in the new U.S. Security Strategy unveiled in September, raises a wide range of issues, involving legitimacy, the rule of law and the future of the United Nations, that are of great concern to Europeans. There are also concerns in Europe about other aspects of the Bush doctrine, particularly insofar as it provides for a war against Iraq, of which the aims and the justification are unclear. The fundamental question is what to do if the UN Security Council fails to endorse what the United States and others see as necessary action to counter a global threat.
The Conflicting Goals of America's New Security Strategy
By Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay, Senior Fellows, and James B. Steinberg
Director, Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution
Although the overarching goals of the administration's new strategy make sense, its proposals for achieving them raise important questions. The strategy relies heavily on the help of countries that do not share America's basic values and fails to recognize the limitations of pre-emption as a policy tool. It underestimates the contribution that broad-based alliances and institutions make to furthering U.S. interests over the long-term, and proposes economic and political assistance programs ill-suited to alleviating the dangers presented by failed states.
Defense and Security
New NATO Force Could Help, Not Hinder Europe
Joseph Fitchett
Political Correspondent, International Herald Tribune
The Bush administration's proposal for a new NATO "response force" has led some Europeans to suspect that Washington is seeking to undermine the rapid reaction force that the European Union is planning as its military arm. Most security analysts, and U.S. and European officials, believe that, on the contrary, the new NATO force would bring considerable benefits to Europe, including a cheap way of accessing advanced new U.S. military technology.
Leader in Focus
The Baltic Will Be Europe's New Growth Area
Valdas Adamkus
President of the Republic of Lithuania
Just over a decade after the fall of Soviet Communism, the Baltic countries are opening their markets to foreign competition and renewing their links with the outside world. This process will accelerate rapidly once the European Union and NATO are extended into the region, making it the fastest growing area in Europe. The Baltic states are impatiently awaiting the prospect of linking Southern and Northern Europe in an expanded area of peace and prosperity, while retaining close links with America.
Special Report
The Implications of European Enlargement
A Wider Europe Is a Win-Win Proposition
Günter Verheugen
European Commissioner for Enlargement
The forthcoming enlargement of the European Union will help create an area of lasting peace and prosperity on both sides of the former Iron Curtain. This will not only benefit Europeans; it will also strengthen the Transatlantic partnership. Ten candidate countries - Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta - are likely to be admitted at the EU's Copenhagen summit in December.
Kaliningrad: A Test Case for EU-Russian Relations
Dr. Richard J. Krickus
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Mary Washington College
One of the trickiest problems of EU enlargement is the status of the citizens of Kaliningrad, a small Russian enclave squeezed between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. When Poland and Lithuania become members of the European Union, probably in 2004, people from Kaliningrad will require visas to cross the two countries if they want to travel to the rest of Russia. Moscow claims that would violate their human rights; the European Union maintains it is a legal and technical problem.
A Bigger EU Will Clearly Benefit the United States
Michael Mozur, Director
Office of North Central European Affairs, U.S. Department of State
As EU enlargement comes closer, the admission of new members into NATO will also help to advance President Bush's vision of a Europe "whole and free." The United States remains committed to the idea that European economic integration is crucial to future peace and stability. EU enlargement will benefit the United States and Transatlantic disputes are resolvable. Washington remains a strong supporter of the European Union, and will continue to say so.
U.S. Business Fears Gridlock in Brussels
Gary Litman
Vice President, European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
American companies admire the European Union for its persistence in striving to admit new members, but they fear that the Brussels institutions will not work so efficiently if as many as ten candidate countries join at the same time. There are fears that the EU is over-reaching for political reasons. The top priority should be to avoid destabilizing the existing single market and its rules and regulations, even those that American business does not like.
New Members Will Bring Big Economic Benefits
Bernd Fischer
Minister for Economic Affairs, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United States
The most important reasons for enlarging the European Union to include Central and Eastern Europe are political and historical. But a larger single market will also bring big economic benefits, both for the existing EU member states and for the United States. The recent disastrous floods have strengthened European solidarity.
Candidates Want to Keep Strong Links with U.S.
József Tóth
Minister, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Hungary to the United States
The Central and Eastern European countries are totally transforming their societies to prepare for EU and NATO membership. They want to assert their European identity by joining the European Union, but do not want to be forced into a false choice between allegiance to Europe or to the United States. What is needed is a comprehensive global partnership between the two sides of the Atlantic.
In The News
The EU and Turkey Head For Another Big Test
Philippe Lemaître
Brussels Correspondent, European Affairs
Turkey's ever-sensitive relations with the European Union could head into another difficult period if the EU's 15 leaders fail to set a date for the opening of Turkish EU entry negotiations at their Copenhagen summit in December. Turkey believes its recent political reforms require a positive response from Brussels, but the European Union may not be ready to give one. The likely admission of Cyprus without a political solution to the island's problems will make Ankara even more hostile toward Brussels.
Trade and Development
New Man in Geneva Needs to Re-Brand the WTO
David Woods
Managing Director, World Trade Agenda Consultants
Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand, the new Director General of the WTO in Geneva, will find that his powers and his status are not those befitting the leader of a major international institution. He must face edgy U.S.-EU trade disputes and the unlikelihood that the Doha Round of world trade negotiations can be finished on time. He will need to combine Western-style toughness with Oriental skills in consensus building.
After Johannesburg: U.S.-EU Disputes Remain to be Resolved
Roger Bate
Director, International Policy Network
The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg turned out to be more worthwhile than many had expected. New free-trade groups emerged to counter the weight of traditionally anti-capitalist non-governmental organizations, and poor countries made their voices heard more loudly than ever before. But many long-running disputes, including important conflicts between the European Union and the United States, remained unresolved.
Finance and Banking
The World Financial System Has Weathered Unprecedented Shocks
André Icard
Deputy General Manager, Bank for International Settlements
In the past 18 months, the international financial system has resisted an unprecedented series of shocks - a slowdown in global growth, the bursting of the tech bubble, a plunge in equity prices, the collapse of Enron, September 11 and the default of Argentina. For many reasons, the system was much better prepared to face such shocks than in the past. A number of vulnerabilities remain, but a positive outcome, including a rapid economy recovery, remains a credible scenario.
Europe Has Little Insurance Against Recession
John Llewellyn
Global Chief Economist, Lehman Brothers
Most investors see a much gloomier outlook for the European economy than economic fundamentals suggest. Normally, one should trust the fundamentals. But there are many abnormal risks, including fresh blows to confidence and a possible sharp fall in the dollar. EU policy makers have not done enough to protect Europe against future economic shocks.
Book Reviews
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Reviewed by Susan Eisenhower
The New Russian Diplomacy. By Igor Ivanov
How Popular Nationalism Waxed and Waned
Reviewed by Bailey Morris-Eck
Who We Are: A History of Popular Nationalism. By Robert H. Wiebe
Letters to the Editor
For Further Reading