Paris, 24/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - Two Occasional Papers by the European Union Institute for Security Studies (Nos 39 and 40) examine the problems around the crisis in Iraq from the angle, amongst other things, of the impact this will have on relations between the European Union and the United States. Thus, in the issue entitled "Iraq: the transatlantic debate", Philip H. Gordon, while considering that the crisis comprises aspects that are more important than the question of knowing whether Americans and Europeans can reach agreement, stresses that both parties must recognise that "their own actions and decisions will have a large impact not only on their relations with each other but on the outcome of the Iraq case itself". In addition, it is his opinion that, "by pursuing a common strategy" on this crisis, Americans and Europeans "would be launching a joint endeavour that would do much to put the transatlantic alliance back on track".
In "Iraq: a European point of view", Martin Omega notes that what is at stake in the Iraq issue is the "way to cope with a whole range of international issues that the Americans and Europeans are discussing". Americans and Europeans "should talk more to each other", Mr Ortega insists, noting that the United States "deems it necessary to use force not just for self-defence or collective security purposes but also in order to tackle selectively some threats to the United States", whereas Europe favours negotiation. Over recent months, the United States has put the Europeans under strain and the options for Europeans are now very limited: - either they agree to intervene with the Americans, even if they are not convinced, in order to "save" the transatlantic relationship, or they decline to participate in military operations. Both options would entail problems.