[Nasional-e] New Europe squares off against old

Wed Feb 12 22:00:19 2003

EDITORIAL

New Europe squares off against old

The debate over Iraq has made painfully clear the growing rift between the
United States and Europe. Typically, the image pits the Bush administration
against its German and French counterparts, while Britain remains the loyal
American ally. This simple characterization does not tell the whole story.
While there are strains within the Atlantic alliance, the most important
divide is within Europe itself. The old European model, driven by the
Franco-German axis, no longer works. Enlargement has changed the European
dynamic.

The Atlantic alliance has come under strain. Since the end of the Cold War,
the U.S. and its European allies have clashed over everything from
Afghanistan to trade issues. Tensions have notably increased in recent
weeks, however, as U.S. officials voice growing exasperation over European
foreign policy. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been one of the
most vocal critics. Earlier this year, he dismissed French and German
caution about an attack on Iraq as reflecting the thinking of "old Europe."
According to Mr. Rumsfeld, "the center of gravity is shifting to the east."

More scathing criticism followed. Last week, he accused France, Germany and
Belgium of "inexcusable" stalling after NATO failed to agree on defense
measures for Turkey, which Mr. Rumsfeld said would undermine the alliance's
credibility. He said France is a country that always seems to disagree with
everyone else, and he grouped Germany with Libya and Cuba as countries that
neither want to participate in military action against Iraq nor help rebuild
the country after a war.

Mr. Rumsfeld is not the only critic. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
was furious after a U.N. meeting late last month when his French
counterpart, Mr. Dominique de Villepin, said that "nothing justifies
envisaging military action" against Iraq. This statement played well at
home, but cost Paris its only friend in Washington. Conservative
commentators dismiss European governments, arguing that their policies are
driven by envy and fear of being irrelevant.

The French and German position contrasts with that of Britain, which has
moved in tandem with the U.S. Last week, Mr. Powell was the voice of
restrained anger at the United Nations, while British Foreign Secretary Jack
Straw played "bad cop," reminding the institution that it could suffer the
fate of the League of Nations if it did not demand Iraqi compliance with
past U.N. resolutions.

Nor is Britain alone among the Europeans in siding with the U.S. Eight
European leaders -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair among them -- recently
signed an open letter supporting the U.S. without consulting France or
Germany. In sharp contrast to the French and German readiness to distance
themselves from the U.S., the prime ministers of Italy, Spain and Poland, to
name but three countries, have aligned themselves with Washington to bolster
domestic support.

This divide is a key challenge for Europe. The open letter reflects dismay,
not only at the stand of Paris and Berlin, but at the presumption that they
still speak for Europe. The expanded European Union is no longer willing to
follow the Franco-German lead. Attempts by France and Germany to determine
the future structure of the EU at the constitutional convention have
increased the antagonism. European officials speak openly of being "fed up"
with this French-German axis.

Conspiracy theorists see this as part of a grand U.S. plan to weaken Europe
and ensure that it stays subordinate to the U.S. They argue that successive
U.S. administrations pushed for enlargement of both the EU and NATO to add
more pro-American voices to both organizations. While that has been the
result, it would be a mistake to forget that Eastern European nations
desperately wanted to join both groups to make permanent their break with
the past. They saw the history of the two institutions as intertwined with
that of the U.S. Their positions reflect the judgment that their countries'
security is best ensured by closer ties with the U.S.

While these strains may be sharper than ever before, trans-Atlantic
squabbles are not new. That means realism -- not a complete dismissal of the
dangers -- is in order. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has
cautioned against "primitive anti-Americanism," and said the U.S. was
irreplaceable as a factor in ensuring global security, adding that the two
countries "are good friends and allies." The French also appear to be
positioning themselves for a shift if it becomes apparent that they risk
becoming irrelevant or, as a permanent member of the Security Council, the
only obstacle to concerted international action against Iraq. "Old Europe"
may be cynical and opportunistic, but it has always been realistic as well.