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21. The European Union, the United States and 'Liberal Imperialism'

Author:
Michael Brenner
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
The Iraq crisis has been a stress test for the transatlantic partners.1 It is the latest in a series that at once has been revealing and redefining their relationship since the Cold War's end. The first Gulf War, Bosnia, and Kosovo: each measured the ability of Americans and Europeans to continue working effectively together. Each highlighted distinctive habits of national mind and action obscured by the exigencies of the Cold War. Each raised pointed questions about the pattern of interaction between the United States and its major allies. Each provided insights into the capabilities, limitations, and internal strains of multilateral organizations: NATO, the European Union, and the United Nations. Each altered attitudes and images in ways that affected how the next crisis was handled.
Topic:
International Relations and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Europe, Bosnia, Middle East, Kosovo, and United Nations

22. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership: Regional and Transatlantic Challenges

Author:
Roberto Aliboni
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) held their annual meeting in Naples on December 2-3, 2003. The Naples conference was the sixth in the series of such meetings since the founding conference of the partnership, which took place in Barcelona in November 1995. With an annual budget of €1 billion, the EMP is a process of “multi-bilateral” cooperation in the political and security; economic and financial; and social and cultural areas. It involves the European Union (EU), and Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Turkey, as well as seven Mediterranean Arab countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia) and the Palestinian National Authority. In Naples, the Ministers delivered only general declarations regarding contentious issues such as the situation in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian road map, and international terrorism. Predictable and incremental as it was, progress was nevertheless achieved on three main “baskets” of the partnership agenda.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Cyprus

23. Getting to “Yes” on Missile Defense: The Need to Rebalance U.S. Priorities & The Prospects for Transatlantic Cooperation

Author:
Jeffrey P. Bialos and Stuart L. Koehl
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
At the end of the day, missile defense is and should be here to stay as a key element of U.S., and in all likelihood, European defense strategy for the twenty-first century. The threats are real and there is an emerging consensus about creating defenses against it. While the “macro” issues of ABM withdrawal and initial fielding of the U.S. midcourse segment are behind us, there are very legitimate issues that warrant debate on both sides of the Atlantic. We now need to focus on making the right choices to provide a better balance of capabilities between various strategic, regional, force protection, and homeland security needs. Moreover, U.S.-European engagement on missile defense is potentially, but not inevitably, a win-win proposition—binding alliance partners together geo-politically, creating a layered, multi-national plug and play “system of system” architecture, and enhancing our ability to fight wars together. And, an enhanced coalition war fighting capability is likely to have beneficial spillover effects on the broader Transatlantic relationship; it is axiomatic that countries that fight wars together tend to have congruent interests in a range of areas. But for this to happen, Europe needs to begin to seriously consider its missile defense needs soon and apply resources to the task and the United States needs to resolve the underlying technology transfer issues and questions of roles and responsibilities. Thus, with hard work and good will, multi-national cooperation between the United States and its allies offers “win-win” from the standpoint of strengthening the alliance and our mutual security.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Military Strategy, Weapons, and Missile Defense
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Europe

24. Shoulder to Shoulder - an Interview Series December 2003

Author:
Loretta Bondi
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
CTR: How did the idea of the arrest warrant come about? António Vitorino: The 1999 Amsterdam Treaty expressly provided for the replacement of extradition procedures with a fast-track surrender mechanism. The meeting in Tampere that same year [creating an area of freedom, security and justice in the European Union] developed that idea. We have worked on it since 2000 and completed this work in September 2001. We presented our findings to the Council just eight days after the September 11 attacks. Work on the warrant was completed in just two months. The arrest warrant introduces an unprecedented expedited process, which abolishes formal and lengthy extradition procedures. It is based on the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions among EU members, that is, a decision of a member state tribunal should be executed in another member state as easily and quickly as possible.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

25. Shoulder to Shoulder - an Interview Series November 2003

Author:
Loretta Bondi
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
CTR: Will the attack against the Italian contingent in Iraq affect the Conference's debate? Dario Rivolta: This national tragedy will not change our country's posture towards the region. There are international factors that go beyond Euro- Mediterranean cooperation and that need to be tackled in a wider discussion. The attack against the carabinieri underscores the urgency of strengthening our collaboration with Arab states.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
Europe and Middle East

26. Shoulder to Shoulder - an Interview Series October 2003

Author:
Loretta Bondi
Publication Date:
10-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
CTR: Will the Conference and its declaration offer a blueprint for a new security treaty to replace the 1947 Rio Treaty? Ambassador Miguel Ruiz- Cabañas: The Conference's declaration encapsulates the main security concerns of the hemisphere such as terrorism, organized crime, the illicit trafficking in persons and arms, poverty, HIV/AIDS and attacks on cyber security. It is a political document, not a legally binding instrument such as a treaty. It will have both a political and a moral impact. I believe that it would be difficult to draft a new treaty. Our approach is similar to such regional organizations that have reformulated their priorities not through a treaty, but through a new political declaration. I must add, however, that the Conference's draft declaration contains a paragraph calling for an assessment of the Rio Treaty to reflect the new security challenges facing the hemisphere. It has been proposed that next year, an expert working group could start meeting to evaluate whether OAS instruments and agreements are working and how they can be improved. The important fact is that, with this Conference and for the first time in fifty years, the region will commit to an updated vision of security based on common values and concerns.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

27. Shoulder to Shoulder - an Interview Series September 2003

Author:
Loretta Bondi
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
CTR: What prompted India to introduce the draft? Ambassador Vijay Nambiar: The challenge of confronting terrorism is nothing new to us. India has been a victim of terrorism for more than two decades. As victims, we are committed to eradicating this threat from our societies.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

28. Some remarks on Trans-Atlantic Convergences and Divergences

Author:
Bronislaw Geremek
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
Only a few short years have passed since we bade farewell to the 20th century and ushered in a new millennium. Generalised assessments always include the question of whether the glass is half empty or half full; and so there have been differing evaluations put forth on the outcomes of the passing century and the prospects of the new one. However, we can quite safely say that we bid farewell to the 20th century - the century of two world conflicts, totalitarian ideologies and systems, of the holocaust, concentration camps, the gulag-with a sense of relief. The cold war came to an end, the Soviet empire collapsed, and the spread of democracy and freedom around the globe seemed to justify proclamations of the advent of a Hegelian "end of history". The United Nations Millennium Declaration announced the undertaking of new and effective action that would liberate the world's population from the plagues of hunger, poverty and fear.
Topic:
International Relations, NATO, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

29. This Ain't Your Daddy's NATO

Author:
Lord Robertson
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
I am delighted to give my final speech in Washington as Secretary General at a venue named after the man who gave enlightened self-interest a good name.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Washington

30. The United States, the European Union, and International Human Rights Issues

Author:
Esther Brimmer
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
As pillars of the transatlantic community, the United States and the European Union often talk about their shared values derived from their common heritage in the western liberal democratic tradition. Both claim to base their domestic and external policies on their values; and both play a role in international affairs. Their common values suggest that they would support similar policies on international human rights issues. Yet on the international stage they have surprisingly different approaches. This paper will analyze areas of commonality and divergence in United States and European Union policies on international human rights and examine the implications of these differences for human rights and for transatlantic relations.
Topic:
Human Rights, Human Welfare, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States and Europe