U.S. ELECTION: Many Europeans Too Had Different Hopes

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Nov 4 2004 (IPS) - European Union officials have cautiously welcomed re-election of U.S. President George W. Bush. The election result emerged as European Union (EU) leaders prepared for a two-day summit starting here Thursday.

Romano Prodi, outgoing president of the European Commission, who like German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, was one of the first to congratulate Bush on his second term.

He urged Bush to use his second term to promote "political stabilisation and collective security" after the transatlantic differences over the Iraq war.

"Europe will continue to work to strengthen its bonds of friendship and cooperation with the United States," he said in a statement. "Those bonds, which have never been called into question, are vital to maintaining peace in the world on the basis of multilaterally shared principles and values.."

EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana said he hoped both sides could look forward to a true partnership.

"Together, Europe and the United States face many critical challenges in the years ahead," he said. "As in the past, our best hope for success lies in common action. In a spirit of true partnership, I look forward to working intensively and fruitfully with the incoming U.S. administration."

Bush also received congratulations from the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

"I have no doubt that President Bush will maintain the United States long tradition of strong engagement in NATO – the essential bridge between North America and Europe," he said.

But many in Europe had been looking for a change from Bush. For them the election result gives Bush greater endorsement of his sometimes controversial actions which have resulted in a tumultuous transatlantic relationship.

For them, Democratic candidate John Kerry would have been the preferred winner. Fluent in French and well travelled throughout Europe, some analysts had thought Kerry could have worked to quell divisions with Germany and France.

During his election campaign Kerry vowed to restore U.S. alliances with European countries and to "revitalise" the transatlantic partnership that had been "badly damaged by the Bush administration."

Kerry was also seen to be more supportive of the Kyoto Protocol and the International Criminal Court (ICC) which Bush has kept the United States out of.

Several European countries remain frustrated with Bush over a range of issues, including what they see as U.S. unilateralism, the risk of terrorism as a result of U.S. policies, and neglect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The approach to Iran has also been a source of tension, with the EU favouring dialogue and the United States, pressure.

And then of course there is the situation in Iraq which has long divided the United States from several EU member states.

It was thought a Kerry win would mean the beginning of withdrawal from Iraq, but the Bush victory has secured the support of his country for his actions in the war-torn country.

Bush remarked in his victory speech that the United States would push on with what it has started in Iraq. He said it would "help the emerging democracies of Afghanistan and Iraq to grow in strength and freedom."

Concern over the Bush win is not just confined to the corridors of power in and around Brussels, it is also shared by European citizens.

A poll released last month by the Washington-based think-tank, the German Marshall Fund, indicated that some 75 percent of Europeans say they disapprove of how Bush handles foreign affairs, and 73 percent think the war in Iraq has increased the global risk of terrorism.

So Bush now will also have to convince them that a second term will be good for them. Many American representatives are confident this can be done.

Speaking Wednesday shortly after Kerry conceded victory to Bush, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Rockwell Schnabel said he was sure Bush would produce "a renewed commitment to reach out to Europe."

Schnabel said that the transatlantic drift has been largely exaggerated. He highlighted the positive aspects of the partnership and said differences between the EU and the United States were surmountable.

He proposed a high-level summit where the EU and United States could discuss their differences.

"We have to figure out a way to work together on important issues such as global poverty, terrorism and AIDS instead of worrying about the small differences we’ve had in the past," he said. "There are more important issues in the world than what we are quarrelling about."

But John Palmer, political director at the Brussels-based think-tank the European Policy Centre (EPC) is not so confident that such differences can be brushed aside. He said "serious divides" remain in the partnership.

Palmer insisted that the EU-U.S. relationship will not change unless the United States admits that it has "got some fundamental things wrong" over its foreign policy.

"Even super powers such as the U.S. have to be held accountable," he said. "The future of the EU-U.S. relationship will depend entirely on the actions of the new administration. It has to be aware of its limits."

Monica Frassoni and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-presidents of the Green Party in the European Parliament echoed such concern and expressed disappointment at the result.

"We regret that a change of course in U.S. foreign, security, environmental and social policy – hoped for by many Europeans – is now very improbable," they said in a statement Wednesday. They urged the EU to respond by presenting a strong and united front..

"In the next four years the role of the European Union as a counterweight to the U.S.. will become ever more important," they said. "Only a strong, united Union that is able to act decisively when needed will be capable of fulfilling this task. Therefore, a rapid ratification of the Constitution must become priority number one in Europe."