European Affairs
c/o The European Institute
1001 Connecticut Avenue
NW, Suite 220
Washington, DC
20036-5531
Tel: (202) 895-1670
Fax (202) 362-1088
info@europeanaffairs.org
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Europeans
Struggle to Win Friends and Influence People in the U.S.
A controversial new report, EU Foreign Political Vision 2020,
urges Europeans to do much more to explain the workings of the European
Union and its policies to Americans, and to lay the basis for a genuine
Transatlantic partnership in the coming years. The report argues that
instead of seeking to impose its will, the United States should use its
influence to create consensus. In a spirited debate organized by The
European Institute, many American participants sharply criticized the
report’s conclusions. A number of the Americans urged Europeans to be
less inward-looking and concentrate on the more urgent global challenges
of the 21st century.
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 The
EU Can Continue to Unite Without a Constitution
Ulrike Guérot, Director of Foreign PolicyEurope, the German Marshall
Fund, Berlin
No more new members will be able to join the EU, after Bulgaria and Romania
in 2007, unless the EU introduces institutional reforms of the kind contained
in the proposed constitution that has been rejected by French and Dutch
voters. Nevertheless, the EU has not been totally immobilized by the
constitutional crisis. Many other practical advances toward closer unity
can be made without waiting for a new move to constitutional reform,
for which momentum may gather toward the end of the decade.
 Blair
Seeks to Reshape EU in Britain’s Image
John Palmer, Political Director, European Policy
Centre, Brussels
As the European Union struggles to resolve one of its worst ever crises
in the coming months, Britain will be in the presidential chair. Prime
Minister Tony Blair sees the presidency as an unprecedented opportunity
to start reforming the EU along lines more acceptable to the UK. But
that will be neither easy nor achievable during the six-month British
presidency. Mr. Blair is in a race to get results before his time in
10 Downing Street runs out.
 EU
Economic Reforms Can Also Further Social Justice
Peter Mandelson, Commissioner for Trade, European Commission
The French and Dutch referendums have confirmed that many Europeans are
disenchanted with the European Union and that its leaders have failed
to explain why it is necessary. Europe needs economic reforms and a new
social model to confront the challenges of globalization. But that need
not involve a complete surrender to market forces. Economic reforms can
be married with the traditional European desire for security and social
justice.
 Immigration
Is Becoming a Key Issue for Europe’s Future
Joanne van Selm, Senior Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute
Popular concern over immigration is affecting all the most difficult
items on the European Union’s agenda, including the proposed European
constitution, EU enlargement, demographic problems and the war on terror.
The situation differs from country to country and some fears are misplaced.
But if political leaders fail to find answers to voters’ anxieties, it
will be hard to resolve many of the other challenges confronting Europe.
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 How
the U.S. Could Improve its Image in Europe-wide Opinion
Jacqueline Grapin, President, The European Institute
A highly significant development in recent years has been the birth of
a European public opinion, initially in reaction to American policies
or events in the United States. If anti-Americanism has grown in Europe,
it is often because interpretations of these events and policies are
widely different on either side of the Atlantic. The United States could
help to improve its image in Europe by taking a number of steps, including
trying harder to explain its policies and its attitudes to international
cooperation, and abandoning periodic attempts to divide France and Germany.
 Don’t
Drop the EU Constitution: Improve It
Andrew Duff, Member of the European Parliament (UK)
Although the current version of the EU constitution is dead, the reasons
for it, to make the Union more efficient and democratic, have not disappeared.
The best solution would be to revise and improve the constitution to
make it more acceptable to European voters and resubmit the new version
for ratification when the time is ripe.
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 The
U.S. Should Show More Visible Leadership
Wolfgang Ischinger, Ambassador of the Federal Republic
of Germany to the United States
Despite frequent suggestions to the contrary, the U.S. and the EU agree
on many fundamental issues of foreign policy. They differ, however, on
the role that international institutions should play in shaping the world
and promoting democracy, and the U.S. is not living up to its responsibility
to take the lead in UN reform. Objections to the proposal for expanding
the Security Council put forward by Japan, Germany, India and Brazil
do not hold water.
 A
More Efficient UN Will Make the World Safer
Mark P. Lagon, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International
Organization Affairs, U.S. Department of State
The U.S. has long advocated reforming the UN, especially in the fields
of management and human rights. We must create a culture in which democracy
and human rights are a priority and reform the discredited Commission
on Human Rights. A more efficient UN has great potential for furthering
freedom and increasing international security.
 Washington
Should Reconnect with the Rest of the World
Mark Malloch Brown, Chef de Cabinet, Executive Office of the Secretary-General,
United Nations
The United States has come up with some good ideas for UN reform, but
it is not engaging properly in the international negotiations that are
taking place in New York. If reform is to be achieved, Washington must
produce proposals that the rest of the world community can support and
stop trying to force through change by itself. Europe can act as a bridge
to bring the thinking in Washington and New York together.
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 It
Will Take More Than a Falling Dollar to Rebalance the World
Economy
Edwin M. Truman, Senior Fellow, Institute for International
Economics
Although the problem of the world’s macroeconomic imbalances has long
been acknowledged, little has been done to correct them, largely because
the consequences would be so painful. A decline in the dollar will not
be enough to solve the problem. U.S. savings must rise, as well as consumption
or investment in the rest of the world. Most importantly, the growth
of demand must slacken in the United States and increase elsewhere. The
Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank must help to bring this
about.
 100
Smaller New EU Members May Join the Euro First
J. Onno de Beaufort Wijnholds, Permanent Representative
in Washington, European Central Bank
The ten countries that joined the EU in May 2004 are all obliged to adopt
the euro, although there is no fixed timetable. Estonia, Lithuania and
Slovenia have already pegged their currencies to the euro and are keen
to join quickly, while some of the bigger countries will want more time.
The expansion of the euro area to at least 22 members will not change
ECB monetary policies, nor invalidate the need for a single interest
rate throughout the area.
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Lithuania the Case for Quick Euro Entry
Ramune Zabuliene, Deputy Chair of the Board, Bank of Lithuania
Lithuania sees considerable benefits and few, if any, disadvantages in
joining the euro as quickly as possible. It remains confident that it
can meet all the convergence criteria that are preconditions for euro
membership by 2007, although keeping tight control on inflation will
be the most difficult challenge.
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 We
Need a Transatlantic Framework for Economic Growth
Günter Verheugen, Vice President and Commissioner
for Enterprise and Industry, European Commission
The EU and U.S. economies are now so closely connected that it is hard
to see where one ends and the other begins. But much more can be done
to eliminate economic and regulatory barriers between the two sides of
the Atlantic. The European Union will best be able to play its part if
it builds a stronger economic and social base, by adopting reforms that
stimulate economic growth and create more jobs.
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 New
Members Help EU, but Add to Management Problems
Jaroslaw Pietras, Secretary of State for European
Affairs, Poland
The entry of ten new members in 2004 has not had a great economic impact
on the EU, but it is stimulating growth in the new member states and
offering new opportunities to the old ones. Enlargement has also focused
attention on the need to reform the EU economy, reallocate economic resources
and resolve the management problems that the entry of the new members
has exacerbated.
 Different
Voices Should Be Heard in Brussels
Eric Stewart, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce
The enlargement of the EU has led to important economic reforms in the
ten new member states, and big business gains for American companies.
But more needs to be done, for example in strengthening intellectual
property rights and easing regulations on pharmaceuticals. Washington
hopes that the new member states in Central and Eastern Europe will progressively
influence Brussels to move in a more liberal direction.
 The
EU Economy Will Have to Become more Flexible
Franklin Vargo, Vice President for International Economic Affairs,
National Association of Manufacturers
EU enlargement will cause some changes in trading patterns and may alter
the Union’s position in the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations.
But by far the biggest consequence will be to put pressure on the older
member states to deregulate their economies and make them more flexible.
This will finally lead to faster economic growth in Europe, which will
have a salutary effect on world trade.
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 The
EU Wants Open Skies over the Atlantic
Jacques Barrot, Vice President and Commissioner for Transport,
European Commission
The markets for air travel have been liberalized on both sides of the
Atlantic, but numerous barriers still prevent free competition in aviation
between the European Union and the United States. The European Commission
is persisting in its efforts to make European air travel more efficient
and competitive. But it also wants to negotiate a comprehensive agreement
with the United States that would open up the Transatlantic market.
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 Today’s
Terrorists Would Like to Conduct Chemical and Biological
Attacks
Georg Witschel, Coordinator for Prevention and Combating
International Terrorism, German Foreign Ministry
In the last 20 years there have been very few terrorist attacks involving
biological or chemical weapons, but there are many reasons why terrorists
will seek to use them in future. Modern terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda
want to inflict high numbers of civilian casualties and instill maximum
fear and panic. Germany is doing its best to counter this threat, and
action is also being taken by the European Union and NATO.
 The
U.S. Cannot Defeat Terrorism Unilaterally
John R. Dinger, Deputy Coordinator for Counter Terrorism, U.S. Department
of State
The United States reserves the right to take direct action to protect
itself from terrorist attacks, but it acknowledges that terrorism will
only be defeated with the help of other nations. Bioterrorism presents
unique and frightening threats that make international cooperation especially
important. We must also learn from real world outbreaks of contagious
diseases, such as SARS.
 U.S.
Lead in Countering Bioterrorism Could Create Acute Problems
Richard A. Falkenrath, Visiting Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Program,
The Brookings Institution
There has been far too little international cooperation on fighting bioterrorism,
leaving the United States far ahead in the field. This could cause agonizing
problems in the event of a serious bioterror attack, in which the United
States might face the dilemma of protecting other countries or its own
population.
 New
Biological Defenses Will Be Part of the Answer
Dr. Charles Gallaway, Director, Chemical-Biological Defense Directorate,
Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, Defense Threat Reduction
Agency, U.S. Department of Defense
The scientific community is working on a multi-stage strategy that would
protect people before an attack occurred, improve detection if it did,
and treat people quickly after an outbreak started. New ways of thinking,
and new kinds of biological defenses, are showing promise, and there
can be no doubt that technological advances will provide part of the
answer to bioterrorism.
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European Affairs
1001 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 220
Washington, DC 20036-5531 Tel: (202) 895-1670
Fax (202) 362-1088 info@europeanaffairs.org
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