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
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.
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.