WSJ/EU-Digest: Obama to Woo European Public on Overseas Trip - by Jonathan Weisman and Stephen Fidler

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Obama to Woo European Public on Overseas Trip - by Jonathan Weisman and Stephen Fidler

Mr. Obama also intends to extend his efforts beyond official meetings. He will hold a town hall-style meeting at a sports arena in Strasbourg, France, European diplomatic officials said. And the White House is looking for a site in Prague for the first public foreign-policy speech of Mr. Obama's presidency, according to Petr Kolar, the Czech Republic's ambassador to the U.S. Turkish press reports say Mr. Obama's visit to Istanbul after the Prague summit will include a stop at the Hagia Sophia, a Byzantine-era church converted to a mosque under the Ottomans, and a stop at the national Sultan Ahmed Mosque.

The emphasis on including public events, a deliberate nod to Mr. Obama's successful tour through Europe as a presidential candidate, stands in contrast to the divisions that have opened on policy since he took office.

Note EU-Digest: Mr. Obama deserves a warm welcome from every European. He brings a refreshing opportunity for Europe and America to renew their historical close and friendly ties after the eight years of dogmatic Bush Administration policies, which in relation to the EU were based on divide and conquer tactics in relation to what the Bush Administration called the "old and new Europe". That policy has inflicted long term damage to the integration process of the new Eastern European member states into the EU family of nations. It has encouraged unilateral political, military and commercial deals between the US and the new Eastern European EU member states, without prior consultation with the EU Commission. This is still going on. In essence the US has never given any clear indication by its actions that it recognizes the EU and its institutions as a sovereign Union of Nation States. So when Mr. Obama visits Europe and politicians jockey to be seen by his side when pictures are taken they must also make sure that they ask themselves that the story they hear is not the same story "repackaged" with a more appealing ribbon around it.