Posted on 07/14/2010 8:40:34 PM PDT by RobinMasters
Europe’s disappointment with Barack Obama’s presidency is laid bare today as the EU’s most senior figure calls for a dramatic effort to revive transatlantic relations.
The President of the European Commission told The Times that the new era at the White House was in danger of becoming a “missed opportunity” for Europe.
José Manuel Barroso said that the EU-US relationship was “not living up to its potential” and was being marred by fundamental disagreements on how to deal with the economic crisis, climate change and trade reform.
The feelings of a deepening rift are mutual. Senior US figures said last night that Mr Obama could never live up to Europe’s sky-high expectations.
Mr Barroso revealed his frustrations with Washington during a wideranging interview with The Times in which he also admitted that the euro had acted like a “sleeping pill”, luring some countries to the edge of economic disaster with an “illusion of prosperity”.
It has been a fractious few months for EU-US relations, culminating in a fundamental clash of ideas at the G20 summit between Europe’s austerity strategy for ending the economic crisis and Mr Obama’s call to maintain fiscal stimulus.
Speaking days before David Cameron visits the White House, Mr Barroso said: “The transatlantic relationship is not living up to its potential. I think we should do much more together. We have conditions like we have never had before and it would be a pity if we missed the opportunity.”
The US defended itself forcefully against claims that it had neglected Europe. “Expectations were probably so high that they could not have been met when you looked at the European response to the election,” a senior official in the Administration told The Times.
The view from Washington is that communication with Europe on a range of crucial issues is difficult because the EU still lacks “a clear foreign policy apparatus”.
Richard Haass, head of the Council on Foreign Relations, an influential think-tank in Washington, criticised Brussels for the appointments of Herman Van Rompuy as President of the European Council and Baroness Ashton of Upholland as High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
“Europe created these posts to speak for the collective as a whole. But from the perspective of many Americans, rather than building up someone of the stature of [the former Nato Secretary-General] Javier Solana, it looks as though Europe has retreated,” he said.
Downing Street said that the relationship between Europe and America had always been built on dialogue and co-operation. “If Mr Barroso thinks that we should see more of that, we’d agree.”
A senior aide to President Sarkozy of France said: “Obama does not come from the same tradition as his predecessors. He is interested in Asia and Russia, not Europe. There is no sense of a privileged relationship. They seem to take us for granted sometimes.”
A German government official said: “If our austerity cuts lead to street demos, the protesters will be shouting out phrases they heard from Obama. How do you think that makes us feel?”
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Foreign Secretary, tried to put the cooling of ties into an historical perspective. “We won the Cold War, so of course the problems of Europe cannot be as high a priority as in the past. But that’s a consequence of success, not failure,” he said.
Asked how he planned to reach out to Mr Obama — who visited Europe six times in his first year in office but was said by US analysts to have nothing to show for it — Mr Barroso said: “Of course it is a question of how the Americans are going to reach to us as well because the relationship should be perceived as mutual.”
Analysts said that the EU was naive to expect a sea change in US foreign policy just because George Bush had been replaced in the White House.
Hugo Brady, of the Centre for European Reform, said: “Obama was always overblown as a symbol because US foreign policy interests tend not to change. The US does not understand the need for everyone to be around the table at the EU, which they find as frustrating as a mini-UN where people want to talk about the good things they have done.”
Bwhahahahahaha!!! I’ve know for many moons now that it doesn’t matter who is in the whitehouse, the euros will never be pleased. Anti-americanism is a part of their culture. It makes them feel better about themselves.
HEEEEEHHHEEEEE.
We who did our homework and knew who this guy is could have told you that...sheesh
Don't be shy - only the person you FReepmail will know who you are.
A damning article.
Decades. We will be decades repairing the damage of this administration.
Yeah, he’s changing how the world looks at us alright.....
Sounds like they just need some more free beer and rock concerts, courtesy of Axelrod, et al.
/s
“The best fortress a prince can have is the affection of his people” –Machiavelli
They want him to be even more Liberal than he is.
Gee, what ever happened to the idea of “the world will love us we elect Obama”?
oh I know - I’m just remembering the hoopla over that ridiculous event and how the libs wanted to believe it was the introduction of a new JFK to the world.
Libs have such rich fantasy lives.
Well, the House Dems should have known not to trust him - oh, wait.
Obama to Europe:
“This relationship is not supposed to work. Western Civilization is supposed to die.
THE DARKNESS OF ISLAM MUST REIGN SUPREME THROUGHOUT THE WORLD”.
This is the real news.
The only relation Zero has with Europe is with their misfit crazy terrorists islamists in Londonistan. They all share the same whores as mothers and the same muslimhomosexual pedophile jackal religionists as fathers.
The European leaders that have met with Obama in person realize he is an empty suit. There is no substance, just platitudes. Obama is not competent, and the Europeans recognize it.
Thank you for the ping Piasa.
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Thread Bump.
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