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On June 30, GMF’s Washington headquarters hosted the third annual Transatlantic Think Tank Symposium, timed to follow the official U.S.–EU Summit.  More than 50 policy experts and scholars from both the U.S. and Europe attended the conference, entitled “A Common Transatlantic Geo-Strategy for the European Neighborhood.”    The day-and-a-half-long event, held in conjunction with the European Commission, featured panels regarding various issues of transatlantic concern, with distinguished speakers like Michael Leigh, deputy director-general for the European Commission’s External Affairs; Michael Emmerson, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies; Gerald Knaus, president of the European Stability Initiative; and Bruce Jackson, president of the Project for Transitional Democracies.
 
GMF’s Director of Economic Policy, Grant Aldonas, welcomed the attendees and addressed the vital connections between trade, foreign policy, and the transatlantic relationship. EU Ambassador to the United States John Bruton opened the day’s panels by highlighting the recent French and Dutch “no” referenda votes. He remarked that they were not a negative comment on the future of Europe, but more a result of individual national issues and, in fact, were a mistake to be held at all. While he rejected the current need for any further referenda, Mr. Bruton encouraged an increase in EU patriotism, firmly stating that no political system could survive without healthy nationalism.

In a panel exploring the dilemmas and perspectives of U.S.-EU cooperation, Michel Foucher, the French ambassador to Latvia, and Esther Brimmer, deputy director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, sketched the complexity of the transatlantic geo-strategic agenda.  Mr. Foucher pointed out that the usage of “Europe” as a term for geography and “the EU” as a term for a political entity might lead to disingenuous transatlantic dialogue and possibly confuse the discussion for the future institutional framework. Ms. Brimmer proposed a pragmatic approach to the framework and channels that are open to the United States in order to achieve the optimum cooperation with the EU, as well as with individual member states when necessary.   In discussing the transatlantic challenges in the Balkans, Mr. Knaus asserted that the situation in Kosovo necessitated immediate European engagement, as well as an invitation for full EU membership. A constructive American approach was suggested by James O'Brien of the Albright Group, who stressed that U.S. interests should be joined with and advanced by the European agenda. Eberhard Sandscheider, director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, led a luncheon discussion on the future for the United States, the EU, and China, and declared that the EU-arms embargo of China should, can, and will be lifted.
The difficult balance between association and accession for Ukraine, the Black Sea countries, and the Caucasus was the focus of another panel. Michael Emerson produced concrete proposals on activities for the Black Sea area, such as updating the EU’s approach toward these regions from the condescending “neighbors” view to the more egalitarian “integration” view. While discussing the same topic, Bruce Jackson outlined the larger geo-strategic view of the EU and its current neighborhood policies. The conference’s final panel discussion, moderated by Dimitri Simes, president of the Nixon Center, concerned the issue of Russia’s future role and produced a problematic outcome: without a democratic Russia, there will be no common transatlantic strategy on how to approach the nation.   Many of the outcomes and issues discussed will continue at the next Transatlantic Think Tank Symposium, tentatively planned for summer 2006 in Vienna.

Conference Papers

L’Europe sans frontières?, Michel Foucher, French Ambassador to Latvia (PDF — 51KB)

Dilemmas and Perspectives on U.S.-EU Cooperation: A View from Washington, Esther Brimmer, Center for Transatlantic Relations, SAIS (PDF — 39KB)

Transatlantic Challenges and Co-operation in the Balkans, James C. O’Brien, The Albright Group (PDF — 41KB)

Shapes in search of substance: European enlargement and democratic performance, Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law, Stanford University (PDF — 52KB)   The Black Sea as Epicentre of the After-Shocks of the EU’s Earthquake, Michael Emerson, Center for European Policy Studies (PDF — 52KB)   The Dangerous Drift of Disengagement in U.S.–Russia–EU Relations, Michael McFaul, Hoover Institution (PDF — 12KB)   Russia and Germany, Schröder and Putin– Cabinet Diplomacy 21st Century Style, Michael Thumann, Die Zeit (PDF — 29KB)   Additional Resources   Emerson, Michael (2004) European Neighbourhood Policy: Strategy or Placebo?, Brussels: Centre For European Policy Studies.