European Voice: A new balance of power emerges - by Peter S. Rashish

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A new balance of power emerges - by Peter S. Rashish

The European Parliament elections suggest that a power shift is under way in the European Union. A new triumvirate consisting of Germany, France, and Poland may be emerging; a triumvirate that will keep Berlin in the lead, increase central and eastern Europe's clout and also offer Paris the opportunity to play the role of honest broker. Those forming the US's developing strategy for transatlantic engagement should take note. It is clear that the incumbent parties in Germany, France and especially Poland, all of whom are members of the centre-right European People's Party, were the big winners. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU-CSU won 42 seats, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP took 29 seats. In both countries, the left-of-centre opposition suffered defeats of historic proportions. But the most impressive victory was scored by Civic Platform, the party of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which garnered 44% of the vote and 25 seats. Poland – one of the central and eastern European countries best weathering the economic crisis – is going to try to make its voice heard.

While US President Barack Obama has now made two visits to Europe since his inauguration and the tone of transatlantic relations has improved, it appears that his administration's strategy for engagement with the European Union is still evolving. In two policy areas that would benefit from close US-EU co-operation – energy security and the post-crisis economic agenda – Washington should build in an approach that takes account of this emerging EU balance of power.