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Transatlantic Stock Taking

Transatlantic relations are not only showing cracks in the bedrock of shared values but are also vexed by the tensions of practical burden sharing. Issues worth discussing when Merkel and Obama meet in Washington this week, thinks Ekkehard Brose.

Point of View, 29.04.2014 Research Areas

Transatlantic relations are not only showing cracks in the bedrock of shared values but are also vexed by the tensions of practical burden sharing. Issues worth discussing when Merkel and Obama meet in Washington this week, thinks Ekkehard Brose.

When Chancellor Merkel and President Obama touch upon the current state of transatlantic relations in their meeting at the White House at the beginning of May, they could take the easy road. Putin’s aggressive course towards Ukraine has resurrected the spectre of a ‘common adversary’ that had long been regarded as a thing of the past. NATO has kept its word by providing reassurance for its eastern member states. The West has closed ranks and, differences of emphasis not withstanding, adopted common positions. These facts, however, do not really provide a full picture of the actual state of the transatlantic mood.

Growing doubts affecting core values held in common with the US

At the same time as political leaders and the media in Europe and the US were unanimously denouncing Russia’s landgrab in the Crimea as an infringement of international law, completely different views were being aired in the forum of German public opinion. Although Putin’s action in the Crimea was not condoned, Russian policies ultimately met with acquiescence among a considerable segment of the public. A widespread view was that riding rough-shod through the Crimea was simply Great-Power politics, not so different in style to well known US policies. It revived memories of the war in Iraq that had been justified at the time by spurious arguments; it conjured up pictures of Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and water-boarding as well as the US drone war and its civilian casualties. And, finally, there is the NSA that, in the course of the War on Terror, extends its tentacles clandestinely into our living rooms. In the eyes of a sceptical German and European public the conclusion seems all too obvious: in coming to terms with the traumatic events of 9/11 America has lost its political sense of proportionality or common sense. This raises fundamental questions about the future of transatlantic relations.

The interface of our interests on both sides of the Atlantic is considerable and will remain important. The areas of common interest range from European security, Iran, Syria and the Middle East to advocating freedom of expression in the internet and the stimulation of transatlantic trade relations. But the transatlantic partnership can never be a mere marriage of convenience. A common outlook and core values shared by a broad number of ordinary citizens are the factors that make this relationship special, the glue that gives it long-term stability in changing times.

US expects burden-sharing in international leadership

The fact that the US is deepening its commitments in Asia, currently the most rapidly expanding region – just as the Europeans are – need not be to the detriment of the transatlantic relationship. Furthermore, Europe will have to come to terms with the fact that US foreign policy is reducing its commitments step by step, after years of supreme effort in far-flung regions. A US government that, at times, prefers to ‘let others do the leading’, as was the case in Libya, presents Europe with greater, still unaccustomed challenges. It is a familiar theme: burden-sharing, recast this time not simply in terms of military spending, but more comprehensively, in terms of shared political leadership.

Chancellor Merkel and President Obama, then, face serious challenges, not only as regards Ukraine. They must find a way of restoring a greater level of consensus in public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic. Not an easy task and in particular, a challenge for Obama. Only he can convince a sceptical European public, by taking steps that show the legitimate fight against terror conducted by the US is under effective political control, keeping the focus on the individual citizen and his or her rights and dignity. That includes, for example, control of the use of attack drones and the activities of the NSA. On the other hand, if Obama does renew his call for more efficient transatlantic burden sharing in international crisis management, this would present a challenge to the Chancellor. The active role played by Germany in addressing the current crisis in Ukraine is one example, a role that is fully in line with the signals from this year’s Munich Security Conference. The Chancellor could also remind the US President of German initiatives in NATO and the EU that aim to consolidate and strengthen European capabilities. This is not enough, however. On burden sharing, Europe has yet to come up with more convincing answers.

Partnership in the fight against terror and partnership in international crisis management are both rooted in mutual trust. Putting a stop to the erosion of this common foundation will require strenuous political efforts from both sides. This is the true agenda for the meeting between the President and the Chancellor.

Ekkehard Brose wrote this text while he was a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He is a member of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the German Mission to NATO, Brussels until June 2013. The views expressed are the author's own.