International

Summit to examine E.U.-U.S. divide

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS MAY 2 . The Euro-American summit later in the day in Washington has aroused wide expectations on both sides of the Atlantic, despite the divide that in recent months has widened, particularly over West Asia, Iraq and the prospects of a trans-Atlantic trade war.

The E.U. Foreign Policy Chief, Javier Solana, recently wrote: "It is fashionable these days to talk of an intercontinental rift pushing the U.S. and Europe ever further apart... rumours of the death of the trans-Atlantic relationship have once again been greatly exaggerated."

The European delegation is led by the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar and includes the European Commission President, Romano Prodi, the E.U. Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy, and Mr. Solana. They will meet the U.S. President, George W. Bush, and the summit will later resume informally at Camp David.

At the table, the Europeans are expected to voice concerns over the American "unilateral approach" to foreign and trade affairs. Europe has been taken aback by Mr. Bush's extraordinary support for Israel, potentially undermining western interests in the Arab world. The summit will also cover bilateral trade issues and a new role for Russia in NATO.

According to U.S. observers, Mr. Bush and the Europeans are not likely to find much common ground on proposed military action against Iraq. Mr. Bush's administration sees itself as involved in a moral war against terrorism, but Europeans argue that the U.S. cannot win that war without the cooperation of Arab states.

In E.U. fora, France has led a growing chorus of dissent against proposed air strikes against Iraq, while the German Government has maintained a "tactful silence". Arab countries have called for Iraq's rehabilitation after years of living under U.S.-initiated sanctions, while European opinion is also shifting in that direction. But American rhetoric has exposed deep strains within the alliance. France has stated that the U.S. has "no legal basis for this kind of bombardment" and warned the U.S. to "change its approach" if it wants to forge a new western consensus on a strategy to contain the crises in West Asia.

U.S. rhetoric weighs heavily on the future of the trans-Atlantic relationship, with far-reaching consequences for the 21st century.

The traditional relationship — between a dominant U.S. and semi-passive Europe — is quickly fading, as the E.U. attempts to evolve new "common European foreign and defence policies".

E.U. leaders are also keen, however, to develop new mechanisms for a "collective" decision-making process to sustain the trans-Atlantic alliance.

The 15-nation E.U. is already one of the largest overseas customers for U.S. goods and services. In the recent past, there has been talk of bringing together three of the world's largest U.S. customers — the E.U., Canada and Mexico — into a massive free trade area with a combined gross domestic product of $10 trillions.

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