Our news | 31/03/2010 

Article published in "The Economist" on 31 March 2010.

HERE are three pieces of conventional wisdom that trigger head-nodding and murmured assent wherever Brussels grandees gather. The first is that, as economic and political clout flows away from the West, Europe can be a driving force only if it learns to speak with one voice and to defend common European interests. As the European Union's new foreign-policy chief, Baroness Ashton, told members of the European Parliament, "if we pull together, we can safeguard our interests. If not, others will make decisions for us."

The second is that Barack Obama has learned from the mistakes of his predecessor, and is pursuing a more European foreign policy. For a faultless exposition of this view, try a new paper on transatlantic policy produced by a group of former presidents of the European Commission, ex-prime ministers and EU commissioners, senior MEPs and two living prophets of Euro-integration, Jacques Delors and Joschka Fischer. Their paper (published by Notre Europe, a pro-European group) declares that "the American president is again admired in Europe", after embracing principles like multilateralism, dialogue and negotiation, "by which the Europeans set such store"...

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