Stressing that he was not speaking on behalf of the US government, Daniel Hamilton, Director of the Centre for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, argued that the USA (as a country, rather than simply the current administration), is telling Europe that we need to rebalance the transatlantic relationship for the world we’re currently facing and for the real world of the future.
Hamilton said that the US believes its relationship with Europe must be rebalanced in three areas:
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Security: the US is saying ‘we believe in NATO, we’re an ally, and we’ll provide what we need to provide, but we’re over running everything. We’re not leaving, but we need a new balance. It’s time for Europe to take the lead in areas in its neighbourhood. And it’s no longer OK for 75% of NATO’s budget to be borne by the US and 25% by the rest’.
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There is a need to tap into other aspects of the US-EU relationship beyond security to include a stronger economic component: hence the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
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In transatlantic relations in the Twentieth Century, the problem for the US was Europe itself: Europe did not seem to be able to stop civil war between its countries. But now, 90% of the US-EU agenda is different: it’s about how the two partners can work together on issues that are far from both their shores, for example the problems in Syria and Mali, or global issues like energy and climate change.
Hamilton argued that the TTIP is not merely a free-trade agreement and is about much more than just opening markets. “The political drivers are just as important as the economic ones. It’s about repositioning both of our economies, together, in the world,” he said.
“No-one is talking about rewriting all European legislation to make it like the USA’s. It’s about creating new mechanisms for involving legislators from both sides of the Atlantic in each other’s processes. It’s not about converting one side or the other – it’s about finding ways to deal with our intertwined economies,” Hamilton said.
He concluded by arguing that the current lack of opposition to the TTIP provides a unique opportunity to take things forward.