Worldandnation: EU increases role as Bush treads lighter

EU increases role as Bush treads lighter

By PAUL DE LA GARZA

WASHINGTON -- As the White House reviews its foreign policy objectives, the European Union is stepping in to fill the diplomatic gap. Nowhere is this more visible than on the Korean peninsula.

A few weeks ago, after meeting with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, President Bush said he would wait to decide whether to engage in arms talks with the communist regime in Pyongyang, North Korea. His decision disappointed Kim, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work at reconciliation with the North.

Last week, at the behest of North Korea and South Korea, a high-level EU delegation decided it would travel to the region to help invigorate the peace process. In making the announcement, Anna Lindh, Sweden's foreign minister, cited the Bush administration's "more hard-line approach toward North Korea."

"That means that Europe must step in to help reduce tensions between the two Koreas," Lindh told reporters in Stockholm, "not the least because the outside world is so worried about North Korean missiles."

In the past, such intervention on the part of the Europeans without U.S. leadership would have been virtually unthinkable. Since the early days of the Cold War, the United States has almost always forged the way on behalf of Western nations in global situations -- sometimes alone and sometimes in cooperation with its allies.

The new reality, analysts say, reflects not only a more restrained approach to foreign policy on the part of the Bush administration, but also a new recognition by the countries in the European Union that they sometimes have security concerns that are separate from those of the United States.

Latin America is another region the Europeans are lending a diplomatic hand when Washington balks. In Colombia, for example, several nations including France, Italy and Spain recently monitored peace talks between Marxist rebels and the government. President Bush declined an offer for the United States to attend.

A similar split is developing between the United States and Europe over the international Kyoto treaty, which would limit greenhouse gas emissions thought responsible for global warming. European leaders have been critical of Bush's decision to abandon it.

After meeting with Bush last Thursday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he and the president "agreed on practically everything, except, obviously, for one thing, and that was not a surprise to you -- the Kyoto protocol."

In reviewing EU participation in world affairs -- whether it's the Balkans, Colombia or North Korea -- analysts say it's not that Europe wants to thumb its nose at the United States. Rather, as with North Korea, Europe has its own security concerns.

Patrick Cronin, an analyst with the U.S. Institute of Peace, says EU participation in world affairs serves as a "checks and balances" on the United States.

"Whether you're talking about Europe or East Asia," he said, "you don't want an 800-pound gorilla making unilateral decisions."

Also, Cronin says, having U.S. allies play a larger role in regions once considered exclusive to the United States, including trouble spots in Asia, is in line with Bush's thinking that America should not be viewed as the world's lone police officer.

In the case of North Korea, the Europeans also can help keep the lines of communication open, reminding Pyongyang that if it wants financial support from the United States, it has no choice but to scale back its missile threat.

In Washington, critics worry about the Bush approach. At a recent breakfast, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., decried "what seems to be a policy of toughness, but disengagement by this administration."

"I'm afraid that others will fill the vacuum," he said. "At best, it will be the Europeans. At worst, it will be Russia and China."

Wilfried Schneider, spokesman for the European Union in Washington, said its growing role in foreign affairs was to be expected. He said it was a natural extension of a body established in 1957.

While the idea was not to anger the Americans with its role in Korea, he acknowledged "a new self confidence" within the EU.

In addition to the Korean peninsula, he cited the EU role in the Balkans, where it bears the brunt of troop commitments as well as costs, and the development of a rapid reaction force outside NATO to help protect Europe.

Schneider said the EU, a 15-nation body representing 376-million people, was beginning to matter for several reasons, including its size and economic clout. Over the years, Schneider said, Europe has gone from "a recipient of the Marshall Plan," a U.S. aid package to rebuild Western Europe after World War II, "to a player."

Still, he stressed that Europeans and Washington should work together -- especially in Third World countries -- to combat international problems, including organized crime and communicable diseases. "On our own, we're only half as strong," Schneider said.

Analysts say the world should not be fooled into thinking that Washington is prepared to crawl under a rock. Bush wants to have his national security team in place before deciding how to proceed.

In Korea, while Europe acts as mediator, only the United States has the money to bail out the North, with its economy in a shambles and its people starving.

Bush, who has said he is wary of North Korea, often cites its missile threat as a reason for promoting a national missile defense shield. Russia's objection to the American plan, however, has prompted fears across Europe of a return to the Cold War.

In developing foreign policy, Bush has said he will consult with allies. But as Korea and Colombia have shown, he has rattled cages.

At a news conference Thursday, Bush was asked about complaints that U.S. allies weren't sufficiently consulted on his stance on North Korea and Kyoto. "If you read the international press," a reporter said, "it looks like everyone is mad at us."

Bush disagreed. "I get a completely different picture, of course, when I sit down with world leaders. I'm sure there were some concerns initially, because they didn't know me. And they heard all kinds of rumors about what our administration would be about. And now I have the chance to sit down and talk to them, face to face."

The president said that on missile defense, the United States would consult with its allies. On Kyoto, he said he "will not do anything that harms our economy."

"But for those who worry about our willingness to consult, they shouldn't worry," he said. "We're going to be open-minded, and we'll have open dialogue."

At the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher said it was inappropriate to draw conclusions "based on two elements of criticism when you have a whole picture that involves intensive and detailed work with our allies that is going forward."