The State of US-EU Relations

The State of US-EU Relations

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to speak to you today on the unfortunately precarious state of affairs between the United States and Europe. As you all know, hegemonic power has shifted between European nations for centuries, while the United States did not emerge as such an influential entity until after World War II. Since these post-war reconstructive years, the United States has continued to grow in social, economic, political, and diplomatic strength, thus cementing its role as a major international power. Although Europe came out of the war battered and bruised, it rose up out of the ashes, and surpassed its former glory to start yet another chapter in its historical saga. After Europe got back on its feet, the European Union was created, which is undoubtedly a major modern success story. The US and the EU have achieved high levels of development and stability that have led them to take on both regional and global leadership roles. Representatives from both bodies work side by side in the creation and implementation of policy in organizations such as the UN and the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development).

Unfortunately, this rosy picture of harmonious relations is more than a little bit idealistic. To say that there have not been times of tension and strife between the US and the EU would obviously be incorrect. Even to say, that the days of friction and discord are over would be a fallacy, because certain issues continue to put a strain on US-EU relations. In order to detail the “why” for the current state of US-EU relations, I will first talk about how past and present conflicts and failures of policy have been caused by fundamenta...

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...lliance has been a critical component of the international system for the past five decade… [but] the transatlantic relationship is now under serious strain…Cooperation across the Atlantic will remain critical for addressing the regional and increasingly global challenges likely to be central in the twenty-first century…Despite the forces pushing apart the two sides of the Atlantic, the United States and Europe still have compatible interests and complementary capabilities…[and] virtually every objective that Americans and Europeans seek will be easier to attain if they work together…”15

Thank you very much for allowing me to speak today on the Atlantic Rift and the State of US-EU Relations. I hope to see you all again, as the United States and the European Union work through their differences, and continue to come together at the global bargaining table.