4. Europe: the new transatlantic agenda*

Adam Daniel Rotfeld

The future of transatlantic relations is dependent on how the differing interests of the United States and Europe on three planes—economic, political and military—can be resolved. European states face the dilemma of deciding how to secure the United States’ politico-military commitment and leading role without acquiescing in US domination of and hegemony in Europe. For the USA, on the other hand, the dilemma concerns how it can help to consolidate the European Union’s independent capability to act in the field of security and defence policy without undermining NATO and its own leading role.
The 1999 Washington NATO summit meeting and the Cologne and Helsinki EU summit meetings gave a new quality to the transatlantic agenda: the EU gained recognition in Washington as a partner on defence matters, although it may take a long time before the EU’s politico-military dimension is complemented with a defence union. The OSCE Charter for European Security codified a set of arrangements for closer cooperation between all security-related international institutions in Europe.
For regional and global security, the renationalization of security policies and too-slow progress in shaping a common European security and defence policy are much greater threats than too-rapid change.

• Appendix 4A consists of documents on European security: the NATO Washington Summit Communiqué, the Presidency Conclusions of the Cologne European Council, the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, the OSCE Charter for European Security and the EU Presidency Conclusions of the Helsinki European Council.