International Political Dialogue - “9/11: Changing Perspectives in the US-Europe Relationships”

International Political Dialogue - “9/11: Changing Perspectives in the US-Europe Relationships” [printable version]

“9/11: Changing Perspectives in the US-Europe Relationships”

A moment of silence in the memory of the casualties fallen in the September 11, 2001 attack and of those who have been victims of worldwide terrorism served as a preamble to the event held around the relationships between Europe and the United States; this event was presided by Claus Gramckow, representative of the Transatlantic Dialogue Program in Washington D.C.

The European Parliament Member, Annemie Neyts from Belgium, still recalled where she had exactly been six years ago on that tragic date. She had given a speech in Casablanca and will never forget that shocking moment.

Most of the people did not understand then how deep the changes generated by those happenings would be, both for the whole world and for the relationships between the United States and Europe.

Even though the United States and Europe are allies, they do not share the same posture. The relationship to the Muslim world is the greatest challenge in our times. From the European standpoint, war does not provide any answers to that challenge. One needs to establish a dialogue instead. The United States successfully achieved the integration of people coming from all over the world. It is a lesson the homogeneous European societies could learn to face the future confident on themselves.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a European Parliament member, was in Washington D.C. that September 11 and experienced from there the anguish felt by his friends in the US administration. The Western world faced a threat and defended itself from it, initially in a successfully fashion and with a great harmony existing between the United States and Europe. But then a dramatic gap arose in the public opinion.

That was why the US administration strived to achieve a renewed approach, although it has not deeply reached the public opinion yet.

Now it’s the time to continue pursuing this approach and rebuilding this Western alliance. „Every beginning has its spell!”, said Graf Lambsdorff. Exploiting the spell referred to in that German adage should be an important task in the American administration receiving the power from President Bush on January 1, 2009.

A new conduction elite team has been generated within the most important European countries with the participation of President Sarkozy in France, the German Prime Minister Merkel, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Great Britain; the US administration should focus its attention on this elite team in the shared agenda.

In Lambsdorff’s opinion, Europeans are not directly involved in a war against terrorism, as Americans are. Europeans are also determined to fight terrorism. However as at first, both parties should focus on a series of tasks towards the future: international weapon control, promotion of democracy, a reduced poverty index, as well as the reform and creation of new international organizations. It is also vital to overcome the challenges posed by Afghanistan and Kosovo, in order for the West to recover the offensive.