The United States and Europe in Global Affairs

Adapting to an Era of Unconventional and Global Threats

September 2010

Global Public Attitudes

GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND KEY THREATS

• Key Threat:Proliferation Of Weapons of Mass Destruction Strategy:Prevention Working through UN and Multilateral agreements Enhance third countries and regional organisations capabilities Strengthen the proliferation regime in a balanced, effective,and concrete

manner by stepping up international efforts Pursue disarmament and ensure the responsible development of peaceful

uses of nuclear energy Bolster the support for multilateral approach to the nuclear fuel cycle Contain the proliferation of delivery systems, especially ballistic missiles Initiate negotiations on a multilateral treaty banning production of fissile

material for nuclear weapons

GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND KEY THREATS

• Key Threat:Terrorism Strategy:Intelligence Sharing & Counter-Terrorism Coordination Preventing radicalisation and the factors behind recruitment Enhance the coordination and intelligence sharing between the different

EU-US counter-terrorism agencies Craft a joint target killing strategy to eliminate hard core elements of

terrorists Protect potential targets and establish a robust mechanism for dealing with

the aftermath of an attack Appoint a European Counter-Terrorism czar and ensure a near perfect

coordination with his US counterpart Bolster existing joint EU-US mechanisms on information sharing to track

terrorist financing Draining the swamp of radicalization by addressing the root causes of

extremist ideology

GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND KEY THREATS

• Key Threat:Cyber Security Strategy:Detect, Deter, Mitigate Deploy intrusion detection systems across the full spectrum of government

and private critical infrastructure networks to detect potential threats Develop and implement a Cybercounterintelligence plan to integrate CI into

all cyber operations and analysis Increase counterintelligence cooperation between the EU-US intelligence

agencies Establish a robust mechanism of cooperation between the EU-US Cyber-

Risk management programs

GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND KEY THREATS

• Key Threat:Energy Security Strategy:Diversification and Dependence Develop a unified energy market with greater inter-connection Establish a joint EU-US crisis mechanism to deal with temporary disruption

to supply Enhance EU-US wide cooperation on R& D to promote renewable energy,

low-carbon technologies and energy efficiency Establish a EU-US nuclear commission to re-examine anti-nuclear stances

and explore the expansion of nuclear power Establish a EU-US body for international energy negotiations to deal with

suppliers and consumers

Tracking The Polls, Sensing The PulseThe Obama Presidency has brought a remarkable shift in transatlantic opinion, with 77% of people in the European Union and Turkey supporting President Obama’s handling of international affairs. This rebound has created a new political space for cooperation.

Tracking The Polls, Sensing The PulseDespite a growing support for transatlantic security cooperation, there is a palpable sense of disagreement about the strategic objectives in Afghanistan; how to approach Iran; how to engage Russia; and a host of other major Global Challenges:•Afghanistan: Nearly 63% of Europeans are pessimistic versus 56% of Americans who are optimistic about stabilizing the war-torn Country.•Iran: in dealing with the Iranian Nuclear Program, there is a divergence between the European and American approaches, with 53% of Europeans favoring the dual use of diplomacy and incremental sanctions, while 52% of Americans are favoring the option of a surgical military strike.

Tracking The Polls, Sensing The Pulse• The Economy : A plurality of Americans(29%) and Europeans(31%) believe that

managing international economic problems should be the top policy agenda item for the American president and European leaders. However, there is a divergence in assessments when it comes to the effectiveness of economic policies:55% of Americans think that government spending has been excessive in stimulating the economy, while 24% of Europeans think the same.

• Climate Change: a prevailing sense of mutual concern and disparate responsibility has been shaping the debate, with 48% of Europeans versus 40% of Americans expressing deep concern about climate change.

Looking Ahead

•The Obama effect has been a boon for transatlantic relationship but did not trump substantive national policy differences

•The transatlantic investment climate remains good, but security issues are still sensitive.•Disagreements over regional Strategy for hard cases like

Iran could affect policy options.•The structural and political elements underpining the

transatlantic tensions in dealing with sensitive issues such as strategic oulook are likely to persist.• Leadersip from both sides of the Atlantic is vital to

shape the realm of the political discourse and bring a policy change