News Release

August 20, 2003

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Competing Interests, Not Values, Define European and U.S. Policies in Middle East
Europe can protect its interests by expanding trade in the region

WASHINGTON - The high-profile rift between the United States and Europe over the Middle East, worsened by the Iraq War, is not grounded in differences over culture and values, but rather by diverging national interests, according to a new Cato Institute study.

Many Europeans worry that the American policy of forced democratization in the Middle East will create instability, and harm European interests in the region. In "Mending the U.S.-European Rift over the Middle East," Leon Hadar, Cato research fellow in foreign policy studies, argues that by taking a less dominant role in the Middle East, the United States would create incentives for Europe to defend its interests, and encourage greater engagement between Europe and Middle Eastern states.

"America should certainly provide incentives for the Europeans to devote more of their resources to creating a stable and prosperous Middle East, which would have a direct effect on European interests," Hadar writes. "The much-maligned Europe could end up providing the economic and diplomatic resources needed to help create a New Middle East."

He adds that the United States should not "continue paying the lion's share of the costs of maintaining order in that region on behalf of the Europeans. . . . Trying to prevent the Europeans from protecting their interests in the Middle East runs contrary to the long-term U.S. interest of lowering its diplomatic and military profile in the region."

Europe remains diplomatically marginalized because of its meager military capabilities. Ultimately, European governments must increase military spending if they want to defend their interests around the world. In the meantime, however, the EU may be able to use the power of the euro, which is gaining strength against the dollar as an international currency, as a policy lever.

The EU can also increase its influence in the Middle East by continuing to expand trade in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. "Economic ties between the EU and the Mediterranean countries provide the Europeans with an opportunity to assert their diplomatic status in the region, preferably as part of a cooperative strategy with the United States," Hadar writes.

Israel has indicated an interest in EU membership. EU expansion is already moving forward in the region and includes Cyprus and Turkey. The promise of EU membership could even be used to promote political and economic reform in Iraq and the Palestinian Authority, although this process would likely take many years, Hadar adds.