Europe, the necessary partner

In many areas, transatlantic cooperation is stronger than ever before. Yet the common perception is of an increasingly fraught relationship, as eviden ced by the well-known disputes over beef, bananas, and burden sharing. Assu mptions are diverging over security risks and cultural values. Each side cr iticizes the other's unwieldy policymaking process without admitting its ow n shortcomings, while leaders pander to domestic interests and prejudices w ithout educating voters on international issues. Europe nonetheless remains indispensable to a multilateral U.S. foreign policy. The Bush administrati on must acknowledge the European Union as a true partner, in political and military matters as well as in economics. America cannot expect its allies to share the burdens of global leadership without allowing them their say i n the issues at stake.