Since the separation of the United States from Britain and the rest of Europe in 1776, the relations between the two continents have been the subject of much investigation. This relationship has taken many forms since then. During the formation of the United States in the first century of its existence, these two nations dealt with each other as enemies and allies in the American Revolution. These nations also struggled for international prestige and for continental dominance in the War of 1812 and the Spanish-American War respectively. Over the last century, America has grown in power and its connection with Europe has become that of the late ally in the First World War, the saviour of Europe in World War II, and the bulwark against communist expansion during the Cold War. As the twenty-first century begins, this dynamic transatlantic relationship will continue to develop as the European Union grows and develops. The process will be discussed in the following manner. First, the present connection between the United States and Europe, and between the US and EU, will be examined. It will then be shown that for the relationship to continue to develop, it will be necessary for the United Kingdom to ratify the EU constitution. Then will follow a description of the resulting relationship, should it occur, between the mature and complete EU and the US.

It may be noticed, from the above list of variations in transatlantic relations that America has tended to deal with the nations of Europe individually rather than collectively. Even in such cases as the World Wars, America, though working with an alliance of European powers, was fighting another alliance, which included other European powers. To the present day, America has never had to deal with a completely unified Europe. Therefore, were it to face such a union, the effect on the relationship would be dramatic. This change will be gradual, for unifications do not take place all at once. To this end, the European Union has been working to bring about this union of nations. At present the EU, though making rapid and unprecedented progress, remains incomplete and plagued by all the difficulties that are to be expected in a search for commonality among so many diverse cultures. However, these hindrances have given the US the impression that the EU is more of an exclusively European version of the UN than a new governing body. The US, therefore, tends to consider the EU as an alliance to be dealt with as others have been in the past. In accordance with this view, America has seen no reason to change its policy of individualized negotiations with the nations of Europe.

As more of these nations have ratified the constitution of the European Union and come under its collective leadership, the United States has had to shift its perspective on Europe to take into account this new and increasingly more powerful entity. Unfortunately, American policy continues to deal with this union is if it were nothing more than a stronger European alliance and not the creation of a new united nation in Europe. Instrumental to this misconception is the continued refusal of the United Kingdom to join in this united nation, by ratifying its constitution. This refusal has had a profound effect on America’s view of the EU.

The refusal of the UK to join the EU in this way is significant because of the strengthening of Anglo-American relations during the past century. Although bitter rivals in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with the coming of the two World Wars, the relationship between the US and the UK has grown ever closer. During World War I the US, though late to the fray, nonetheless proved to be the force that turned the tide of the war in favour of Britain and the rest of the Triple Entente. In World War II, the American alliance with the UK became even stronger. After Hitler’s military had destroyed most of the opposition in Europe, Great Britain, supported by the US, was able to hold back the German forces until Russia joined the allies. Together the three surviving powers dispatched the Nazi threat. With the advent of the Cold War when Russia became the enemy of the West, America joined the British in resisting the communist threat while the rest of Europe was continuing to be rebuilt. The aid of the US in British affairs was repaid during the turn of this century, when the UK backed the US during both Iraqi conflicts and continues to this day to be America’s most steadfast ally in its international policy. For these reasons and others, the US has, in recent years, focused most of its European attention on the UK and not on the EU. The bias has been strengthened by the European Union’s refusal to back the most recent of the aforementioned Iraqi conflicts. The result of this difference of opinion between the US and the EU has been a certain disregard for the policy of the EU in European affairs. In addition, the mere refusal of the UK to join the constitution is a source of weakness. As long as the UK remains aloof, the EU will not be able to present a unified political front to the world in general and the US in particular. Added to this disregard is a lack of credibility inherent to all newly formed unions, especially those that, like the EU, are incomplete. The early history of the United States is evidence of this lack of credibility, as Europe was prone to disregard the policy of the United States when it was newly formed and still stabilizing its government.

Thus, the relationship between the US and the EU will be unable to proceed in the future if the UK does not ratify its constitution and come under the leadership of a united European government. The consideration of the future then becomes dependent upon whether the UK unreservedly joins the EU or remains detached as it has for centuries and so hinders a possibly fruitful relationship. For if the UK was to join the EU fully, the US would be compelled to deal with a complete, stable, and diplomatically powerful entity in Europe, a unified continent facing the world with one voice and with the support of a vibrant economy behind it.

The possibility of a UK ratification of the EU constitution must, therefore, be considered. For the past twenty-five years, the British people have remained undecided regarding whether the nation should remain even a member of the European Union let alone ratifying its constitution. In spite of multiple referendums and a strong Labour Party backing, the motion to accept the EU constitution has continued to be rejected. However, the passing of time holds promise for a change in public sentiment. The 2001 elections resulted in the younger generation voting predominantly for the pro-EU Labour Party, while a slight majority of the older generation voted for the anti-EU Conservative Party. There is, of course, a natural trend for people to become more conservative as they grow older. However, the strength of the Labour votes in the younger generation as compared to the slight majority of the older generation’s Conservative votes, combined with the strength of the Labour Party in the British government makes it very probable that a ratification of the EU constitution is only a matter of time.

If the United Kingdom were to join the European Union as a constitution member, its relations with the United States would experience a number of changes. First, this relationship would be unlike any other that the US has had with Europe. This would be a relationship between two nation-states. The US would be dealing, not with an alliance of sovereign nations, but with a new sovereign nation composed of member countries. This would mean that any disputes or regional instabilities that occur in the EU must be dealt with by the EU itself. It could not look to the US for support for the same reason that the US could not allow foreign intervention in its internal affairs. A sovereign nation must maintain itself and not look to others for support. While any internal difficulty in the US is unlikely because the union has been in existence for over two hundred years, Europe still possesses areas of unrest, such as Bosnia and Serbia as well as the continued rebuilding of Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union. These regional difficulties must be settled before the EU as a united whole can advance. There would be economical changes as well. America would find itself no longer trading with multiple European countries competing for its products but with a single European economy. Yet all of the changes that will come need not be detrimental to the relationship. With the EU supporting itself and working to reform its troubled regions, the US will be free to pull out its troops from these areas and make them available in other parts of the world. A unified economy will allow the EU to stabilize its weaker regional economies and trade with the US on a new and more equal footing.

The future relationship between the US and EU will be between nation-states. This will be an unprecedented development that can lead to great advancements for both parties, provided that each is willing to work with the other and pursue their mutual benefits through compromise. May the relationship be amicable as each seeks to find common ground and take advantage of the other’s strength so that together a new and more unified West might work for peace and prosperity across the Atlantic and around the world.

Joshua Inks