VeNews April 6, 2001

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RENEWING THE TRANSATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP

Last month an international conference was convened on "The Renewal of the Transatlantic Partnership—The Responsibility of the European Union and the United States for Stability, Security and Peace in the World." The conference was sponsored jointly by Vesper Society and the Protestant Academy in Loccum, Germany. It was the first in a two-conference series on this topic. The first conference was open to the public and participation by all persons was encouraged. A second conference will be held in September and will consist of the young leaders present at the first conference. They will continue discussion and outline a plan for continued involvement.

" The best prospect for global peace and security is dependent on the strength of the transatlantic partnership as expressed in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU), and the United Nations (UN)." This was the basic theme of a gathering of 135 experts representing 14 countries with a large representation of government officials and diplomats from the United States, Germany and the European Union. Academics, lobbyists, journalists and students as well as business people, military personnel and theologians joined experts in the fields of international relations, arms control and political science to engage in this timely dialogue.

A special feature of the conference was the presence of 25 "young leaders" expert in a variety of fields from both Europe and the U.S. In an attempt to engage the successor generation, this group of people (ages 25-40) held special sessions to evaluate the inputs and contribute their own insights. In a final gathering after the end of the conference, these young leaders began a discussion intended to take the process to the next stage.

Much discussion took place at this conference on the future of the transatlantic partnership given the current realities and tensions. Mutual suspicions are present in the relationship. On the European side, the suspicion is that the U.S. is serving only its own interests and has a lack of concern for European perspectives. On the American side, the suspicion is that the Europeans are not sharing the burdens of security and defense, that they have no coherent security and defense policy, and that they are emerging as competitors instead of partners.
If these suspicions are allowed to continue, this would be a different world than one in which the U.S. and Europe stand together in cooperative policies. Further information on conference discussion on these issues will be reported in future VeNews.

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Vesper Society is a private operating foundation with programs in leadership, health, and Central America. Our mission is to create opportunities for individuals, groups, and organizations to apply moral and ethical values in decision making on social and economic issues.