Foreign Policy Blogs

Is Europe back in?

Several weeks ago, President Barack Obama spent an entire week traveling throughout Europe meeting the heads of states and governments of Ireland, Britain, France, Germany, and Poland, in order to strengthen the transatlantic Is Europe back in?bridge. On June 7 and 8, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was Obama’s guest in Washington. Besides a sudden secret love-story between the two leaders, one should notice a change of direction in U.S. foreign policy and a recognition of Europe as the U.S.’ strongest ally. Several questions can be raised concerning this recent surge in European interests: Has Obama finally understood that Europe is his strongest ally? Has Obama found a partner that he cannot find domestically or even internationally? Between 2008 and today, what has been the turning point?

In her excellent article, entitled ‘Barack Obama redécouvre l’Europe,’ published in Le Monde, Corine Lesnes dissected and analyzed the evolving relationship between the two sides of the Atlantic.  President Obama was immediately embraced by the Europeans even before his election to the White House, as proven by his famous speech in Berlin on July 24, 2008, when he was only a U.S. Senator and presidential hopeful. Yet history has proven that Obama needed time in order to find his marks with his European partners. Very early in his presidency, President Obama led the path by shifting U.S. interests towards Asia.Is Europe back in? Prior to the financial crash of 2009, the U.S. had certain leverage in the region, which disappeared with sudden  U.S. economic weakness following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.  The dynamics of the Sino-U.S. relationship clearly shifted to China’s advantage,  affecting U.S. credibility in the world. The discussion on reforming the financial system was mainly launched because of the crisis in U.S. and European economies, not Chinese, Brazilian, or Indian. The U.S. and Europe have been facing the emerging economies with separate strategies for several years. Today, U.S. and European unemployment rates, growth, and production are still extremely weak. Obama’s trip in Europe in May 2011 and Merkel’s visit in Washington less than two weeks later exposed an obvious truth: a united Euro-Atlantic community can stand, divided they’ll fall.

In Washington, Merkel was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can receive. The message behind such a symbolic and prestigious award was to emphasize Germany’s transformation from a divided country into an united and strong nation-state. The values underlined in both leaders’ speeches were freedom, stability, democracy, and peace. What better partner to choose than the first female German chancellor? This was also a strong message of support to the European integration project and to the Arab revolutions. Merkel declared “History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom.  It moved people to overcome their fears and openly confront dictators such as in East Germany and Eastern Europe about 22 years ago.” She ultimately connected it with the Arab revolutions.

Economically, Obama needs the EU more than ever, especially the Eurozone, to stabilize and manage the crisis in order to re-boost economic growth. Germany, the strongest member of the Euro Group, has a certain leverage and bargaining power at the discussion table. Yet the latest discussion on the future of Greece has shown major divergences between the three leading actors: France, Germany and the ECB. With the upcoming series of elections in 2012 in France and the U.S., the state of the economy will be at the heart of the debate and will most likely affect the outcome of the elections. Both countries need now more than ever a strong Germany that will contribute to the strengthening of the Eurozone, and ultimately the world economy.

In this multipolar system, the U.S. and Europe need each other more than ever. The US does not share the same relationship with China, India, Turkey, Brazil and other emerging powers because of different values, norms and perceptions of world affairs. The gaps in their narratives, perceptions, and motivations diverge considerably. Thus economically, emerging economies are much stronger and in better shape that the U.S.’ Historically, politically and culturally, Europe and the U.S. have shared strong ties that will be central in strengthening the transatlantic alliance and ultimately have a common voice  in international fora in this time of global financial crisis.

 

Author

Maxime H.A. Larivé

Maxime Larivé holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and European Politics from the University of Miami (USA). He is currently working at the EU Center of Excellence at the University of Miami as a Research Associate. His research focus on the questions of the European Union, foreign policy analysis, security studies, and European security and defense policy. Maxime has published several articles in the Journal of European Security, Perceptions, and European Union Miami Analysis as well as World Politics Review.