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 The United States and Europe: An Agenda for EngagementSchool of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University18 October 2010

This event was moderated by Dan Hamilton with speaker Philip Gordon, who iscurrently the Assistant Secretary for the US Department of State’s Bureau of European

and Eurasian Affairs.

Assistant Secretary Gordon spoke at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced InternationalStudies (SAIS) about US-European relations, arguing that the United States must workwith Europe to meet global challenges. He cited shared values and interests as animportant factor in US engagement with Europe. Gordon presented an assessment of the strategic objectives that the US and Europe share, including meeting globalchallenges, working with Europe on Europe, and forging a more constructiverelationship with Russia. He also assessed the ability of the partnership to meet thoseobjectives and outlined his thoughts on the prospects for further transatlanticcooperation.

First, Gordon argued that there has been significant progress in fostering a better relationship with Europe, stating that the US and Europe have “worked together asnever before” since Barack Obama was elected. Gordon pointed out that the US andEurope have many common strategic goals. This includes Afghanistan, where hepraised European countries for stepping up their commitments with both troops andfunding in the last few years, calling their contributions “indispensable.” Another issuethat the US and Europe have worked closely together on is Iran, where there is a unifiedpolicy to engage the country to prevent nuclear proliferation. Additionally, the EUcomplemented the UN sanctions regime by implementing their own sanction measuresagainst Iran. Europe and the US have also worked closely on improving the economy,

especially through forums like the G20.

Next, Gordon discussed the issue of cooperation within Europe, stating that the US hasa vital interest in the extension of prosperity, democracy, and security throughout theEuropean continent. While European integration has been highly successful, there isstill more work to be done. Gordon pointed out that recent trips made by US Secretaryof State Hillary Clinton to Europe in July and October of this year indicate that the US’sglobal agenda does diminish its interest in the completion of Europe. Secretary Clinton

8/8/2019 The United States and Europe: An Agenda for Engagement

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made it a priority to coordinate her recent trips with EU officials, including the EU’s newchief of foreign policy, Catherine Ashton. Gordon pointed out that neither the US nor theEU can succeed without the other in this area. The United States is working incooperation with the EU on both the Eastern Partnership and the Balkans.

Gordon also addressed the recent reset between Russia and the West. The UnitedStates sees significant dividends in working more closely with Russia on a wide rangeof issues and is looking to build a more pragmatic relationship. The US, Europe, andRussia all have similar global interests and the United States believes working withRussia on these will advance the global goals of the US. On issues wheredisagreements exist, the US and Russia must agree to disagree. Gordon pointed to theNew START treaty negotiations and cooperation on Iran as ways that the US andRussia are working together. However, working with Russia will not require acompromise by the US on key principles, especially on territorial rights and sovereigntyof all European countries. When asked about the tripartite meeting between France,Germany, and Russia, Gordon emphasized that US officials were in close contact with

their French and Russian counterparts throughout the planning process and that USofficials see the meetings as evidence of a desire to cooperate. Gordon also mentionedthat the NATO-Russia Council is underperforming and emphasized the need to makethis and other existing institutions better, saying that recent proposals for a new securitytreaty between Russia and Europe is not necessary.

In looking to the future, Gordon highlighted three upcoming summits that the UnitedStates believes are vital for transatlantic relations. The upcoming NATO summitpromises to revitalize the alliance by creating a new vision, granting the organization21st century capabilities, addressing organizational reform, fostering new relationships,and deepening old relationships. A transitional strategy for Afghanistan will also be

addressed at the NATO summit. Additionally, the invitation extended by NATO to Russiato join the summit will hopefully allow for greater cooperation in shared areas of interest,allow for more joint exercises, and foster more transparent relations between NATO andRussia. Following the NATO summit, there will be an EU-US summit. The US hopesthat this meeting will allow for greater coordination of aid resources and will addressissues related to counterterrorism and foreign policy. Gordon noted that this is the firstpost-Lisbon Treaty meeting between the EU and the US, remarking that the US stronglysupports the EU’s movement towards creating a stronger EU, calling it a “milestone for Europe.” Gordon also addressed the upcoming summit for the Organization for Securityand Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which will mark the 35th anniversary of thepassage of the Helsinki Final Act. The US hopes the summit will revitalize the OSCE’sefforts in areas such as the role of civil society, energy security, military transparency,and the creation of an OSCE crisis response team.