Brussels, 14/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Head of the delegation of the European Commission to Washington, the former Irish Prime Minister John Bruton, gave the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels his first impressions after 10 months of experience in the American capital, on Wednesday morning. The attitude of the American administration towards the EU has changed fundamentally since the beginning of this year, coinciding with the start of George Bush's second term, said Mr Bruton. The fact that the re-elected President chose not only Europe, but the European Union in Brussels, for his first foreign visit, is of "enormous symbolic significance", and shows that in the United States, there is " growing recognition of the importance of the European Union", he said, adding: "the Americans are not ignorant when it comes to Europe. They are profoundly interested in Europe, and many of them have profound knowledge about the European Union". This does not change the fact that the Americans and Europeans see the world quite fundamentally differently. In the United States, there is a tendency to reduce everything to a choice between "good" and "bad", "almost Biblically", and this is also largely the case for foreign policy, whereas the Europeans are more "relativist", said Mr Bruton. The fact that 54% of Americans feel that military power is important to guarantee peace and stability in the world (compared to only 28% of Europeans) bears witness to major differences in thought, culture and conception on either side of the Atlantic. "There is a downward trend for these differences, rather than an upward one, but this process of coming closer together will take a lot of time", Mr Bruton predicted. Economically and commercially, it is important is to make progress in talks between Brussels and Washington is on the mutual recognition of norms and standards, in order to facilitate transatlantic trade. Unfortunately, however, the political goodwill to make decisive progress in this field "is not yet there". "The opening up of the transatlantic market is a win-win situation, and could even help the EU to implement its Lisbon strategy", said Mr Bruton. Even the liberalisation of services, which is currently being fought out within the EU, could be achieved more easily on a transatlantic context, according to Ambassador Bruton.
When asked about the deadlock on the European Constitution, Mr Bruton (who was a member of the European Convention, as a representative of the Irish Parliament), said that the EU needs "something radical" to "reconnect" to the citizens with the European project. "For example, the citizens should be able to directly elect the president of the European Commission as well, at European election time. People need to feel that they can change something by voting", said Mr Bruton, who pointed out that he had already made a proposal to this effect was the Convention was doing its work.