csmonitor.com: EU dissonance puts snags in US agenda as Europe puts its focus inward

csmonitor.com EU dissonance puts snags in US agenda as Europe puts its focus inward

Europe presently is in a period of introspection and preoccupation with internal affairs. And that, experts say, will distract European leaders from an emphasis on Israeli-Palestinian peace, Iranian nuclear moves, Iraq reconstruction, and global trade liberalization - all areas where the Bush administration had hoped for Europe's undivided engagement. The new weakness of not just Mr. Chirac but also German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and even British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a result of the developments is not ultimately in America's interest, most experts agree. European leaders will have multiple considerations to handle. Blair, just coming out of a bruising reelection bid, takes over the revolving presidency of the EU Council in July. He will be preoccupied not only with Europe's way forward but also with Britain's place within Europe, some observers note. Schröder - who won his last elections with an anti-Bush rant - is considered very vulnerable in elections scheduled for later this year. And Chirac just this week responded to the "non" vote on the EU by naming as his new prime minister Dominique de Villepin, a nationalist with an anti-American streak who is expected to focus on domestic issues.