FOREWORD BY CHRIS PATTEN

How Europe relates to the world’s superpower is the most important single issue for our foreign policy. The EU and the Unites States really are the “indispensable partnership”. It would be hard to exaggerate how much depends – not just for Europe but for the world – on getting the relationship right.

Yet, since the foundation of the Community, transatlantic relations have been a fault line running through Europe. Is Europe being built with America or against her? Should dedication to the European cause be measured by opposition to the United States?

Those questions – which for me have only one answer – have been brought into sharp focus by recent events. This paper offers a dispassionate account of what went wrong. It also offers some helpful prescriptions for the future.

This study was carried out at the request of the Greek Presidency of the EU and distributed during the informal Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting held at Rhodes and Kastellorizo the 2nd and 3rd of May 2003. In addition to other preliminary documents for this meeting.