American Confusion, European Disunion

Helle Dale / February 04, 2010

President Obama’s decision to skip the annual U.S.-EU summit in Europe, May 24-25, has not endeared him to some Europeans; many of whom once again feel spurned by the man they have so greatly admired, and whose election they so ardently wished for. As reported by The New York Times, “In addition to the palpable sense of insult among European officials, there is a growing concern that Europe is being taken for granted and losing importance in American eyes compared with the rise of a newly truculent China.” The problem here is twofold: It is indeed problematic on a global scale if the transatlantic alliance has been thus downgraded by the Obama administration. Yet, Europeans bear some of the responsibility in this:  their reluctance to support the United States in Afghanistan and their creation of ineffectual and tangled EU institutions have become impediments to relations with the United States.

Particularly aggrieved was Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who was to host the summit in Madrid as the head of the country holding the rotating presidency of the European Council. Like other Europeans leaders, Zapatero, who faces reelection next year, would like to enhance his stature and bask in the Obama glow, and this opportunity was denied him by the presidential non-appearance. In addition, Zapatero arrived in Washington yesterday for high level meetings that interestingly do not include a one-on-one sit down with Obama in the White House. (more…)