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THE
EMANCIPATION
OF
EUROPE
by
Gene H. Hogberg
Present chilly relations between Washington and Moscow are resulting in
appeals for a new European superpower to arise.
''T
HE INTERESTS
and ob–
jectives of the Uni ted
States and the West
European countries a re in–
creasingly diverging," warns
Pieter Denkert, president of
the European Parliament.
The "sheer number of dis–
putes between the United States
and Western Europe has grad–
ually eroded ... mutual respect
and confidence, " writes Presi–
dent Denkert in the Winter
1983-84 edition of
Foreign Pol–
icy
magazine.
Conflicts over trade policy
constitute a major and growing
irritant between the Un ited
States and its European allies.
Add to trade problems an
equally ser ious dispute- the
approach that the West should
take toward the ever-increasing
power of the Soviet U nion.
How to Deal With Moscow
In simplest terms, many West Euro–
peans do not share the perspective of
the administration in Washington
toward the Soviet Union. I n Europe
there is a growing feeling that Presi-
2
dent Ronald Reagan is imposing bis
world view on Europeans. They see
him as attempting to en list them in
a new crusade against communism
everywhere.
Europeans contend Americans
are unpredictable in the conduct of
foreign affairs. They cite as clear
evidence the widely divergent poli–
cíes of former President Jimmy
Carter and Mr. Reagan.
Europeans claim a more prag–
matic view of world affairs, a more
sophisticated and realistic approach
toward the Soviet Union. This per–
spective is perhaps best summa–
rized by former Chancellor Helmut
Schmidt of West Germany in the
weekly
Die Zeit:
" By virtue of nearly 1,000 years
of common history, the Europeans
know the Soviets better than people
can be expected to in Georgia or
California. This European know–
how should be put to good use. The
Europeans want not just military
security but also détente and coop–
eration with the Soviet Union."
From the American perspective,
however, Western Europe is too
weak, too accommodating to grow–
ing Soviet power.
The · editors of one of Britain' s
leading weekly magazines,
The
Economist,
in the cover story of the
January 21 issue, set about the task
of explaining to Europeans "why a
lot of people in America do not
understand Europe's way of looking
at the world." The editors displayed
on the cover of the magazine the car–
icature of a European male, under
the title "How to recognize a Euro–
pean (through American eyes)."
The artist drew attention to vari–
ous parts of this composite Euro–
pean's anatomy with such notations
as " Angry eye on Reagan," "Blind
eye to Russia," " Bleeding heart ,"
"Limp wrist ," "No guts," "Weak–
kneed," "Cold feet" and "Knee
jerlcs."
No doubt many in Europe would
take great exception to such a por–
trayal. But that was exactly the
point the editors of
The Economist
were making: that the caricature
represents the growing
perception
Americans have of Europeans.
And, in the field of international
relations, perceptions often count
more than realities, which can be
quite different.
Stockholm Conference
In general, Europeans are worried
over the freeze in U.S.-Soviet rela–
tions. The freeze has led to the sus-
The PLAIN TRUTH