Loyola Chair Lectures on the Complex History of U.S.-European Relations

U.S. President George W. Bush’s “with us or against us” stance on the war on terrorism struck a devastating blow to the unifying efforts of the European Union (EU) and divided many European nations. However, this recent development is just one of many that comprise the complex history of U.S.-European relations, according to Pierre de Charentenay, S.J., who delivered the fall Loyola Lecture at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus on Nov. 19.

Father de Charentenay began the lecture titled “Europe and the U.S.: Allies or Competitors?” by noting how the United States was intimately involved in rebuilding post-World War II Europe, eager to secure European allies and avoid future conflicts. In subsequent years, he said, American foreign policy dominated Europe because only the U.S. military could challenge the communist threat, while European nations were busy with their own domestic issues.

“Europe was interested in what was going on at home. It was not interested in discussing that with the U.S.,” said Father de Charentenay, the 2003-2004 holder of Fordham’s Loyola Chair in the Humanities. “It was a long time of fiancaille,” he said, using the French word meaning engagement to describe the years prior to the formation of the European Union. “Fiancés are not preoccupied by what’s going on outside. They are building their future together. European fiancailles have been very long [and] sometimes on the breaking point. And there [have] been too many successive weddings and too many partners [for it to have been] a simple and beautiful honeymoon.”

Father de Charentenay noted how a great deal changed in 1989 with the fall of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War. The EU, founded in 1992, eventually brought together 15 European countries, resulting in a common currency and a concerted effort toward a unified European identity. However, despite emerging as an economic equal to the United States, Europe’s foreign policy and military presence was still dominated by the American superpower, said Father de Charentenay. Recognition of this shortcoming, he added, led European leaders like French President Jacques Chirac to stress the necessity of a unified Europe serving as a balance to U.S. domination.

“Beyond alliance, we have competition and now counterweight. Nothing is simple anymore between the two sides of the Atlantic,” said Father de Charentenay, former director of the Jesuit-run Catholic European Study and Information Centre, which studies the political, economic and social processes of both the European Union and the Council of Europe. “It has become difficult for [the United States] to accept that new posture of Europe because of [the EU’s] multilateral position and also because of its progress, slow but real, in identity and unity. Talking to a colleague of the same size is different from talking with 15 dwarfs.”

According to Father de Charentenay, the war in Iraq marked the beginning of a new chapter in U.S.-European relations. America’s decision to enter into war created further divisiveness in Europe at a time when the EU was seeking to grow and further advance the unification process. However, instead of impeding the efforts of the EU, Father de Charentenay said, the war has made many European nations increasingly aware of the need to challenge U.S. foreign policies.

“Elements are gradually taking place for a confrontation with the United States on one issue or another,” said Father de Charentenay to the crowd gathered in the William D. Walsh Family Library’s Flom Auditorium. “Everything is ready for a more serious confrontation on strategic issues, although Europe still has many weaknesses, in military capacity and in research.”

In concluding, Father de Charentenay noted that there are still many difficult questions that both America and the EU need to address concerning the future of the alliance and the fight against terrorism, for example. However, these challenges would be easier to face if the United States and Europe collaborate on such issues, he said.

Father de Charentenay is a past president of the Centre Sevres in Paris and a former professor at the Catholic University in Paris.

Fordham’s Loyola Chair in the Humanities was established in 1992 with a $1 million grant from Fordham’s Jesuit community. Its purpose is to foster research and teaching in the humanities in the Jesuit tradition. Chairholders serve for one academic year, delivering one lecture each semester in their area of specialization.

— Ryan Thompson