Alan Cafruny, the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of International Affairs, led a debate titled "Are Europe and the U.S. Drifting Apart" at the Summer Institute at Chautauqua June 27-July 1, joined by Professor Neill Nugent of Manchester Metropolitan University, U.K.
The debate covered some key issues involved in European-U.S. relations, and analyzed the transformation of the transatlantic relationship. Cafruny is a specialist on the European Union, and Nugent has also been prolific in publishing on the European Union and European politics.
Cafruny addressed questions such as why is there growing conflict between the United States and Europe, can Europe overcome its present economic and political troubles and emerge as a legitimate counterweight to the United States, and would a European "counterweight" to the United States be a good thing for the world, the U.S. and for Europe.
Within his remarks, Cafruny said, "'Europe' is an idealized construct: in reality, the member-states of the EU conduct independent foreign policies. Indeed, with the exception of trade policy, which is conducted solely by the EU Commission, there is no meaningful "EU foreign policy" with respect to the major issues of world politics, although the concept is often invoked."
Among those who attended the conference were graduate and undergraduate students, college faculty, teachers, and employees of companies with multinational interests and commerce.
The European Union has a membership of 25 states, including all the major states of Europe west of Russia. It is the world's largest economy as measured by gross domestic product, it is the world's largest external trader, it has a market size of 450 million people, and it has a currency—the euro—that is rapidly establishing itself as the world's second most important currency. Europe, and within Europe the EU, is the US's most important political ally. This means that it is crucially important to understand Europe's attempts to develop common positions on foreign and defense questions, all the more so when U.S. politicians and spokesmen call on Europe to make a fuller contribution to international security.
-- by Katherine Trainor
