EU woes raise global doubts

By Jill McGivering BBC News, World Affairs correspondent

Condoleezza Rice hopes EU expansion will continue

Until now, the European Union had appeared robust and on a path of healthy expansion.

Suddenly it is facing new uncertainties and engaging in agonised debate about its direction, its future and what sort of institution its people really want.

Populations in France and the Netherlands who voted "No" to the new EU constitution seemed to be rejecting the whole nature and pace of the EU's rapid growth, championed before this crisis by enthusiastic politicians.

But the EU's dramatic pause for thought is sparking anxiety.

Those inside the EU seem unusually introspective.

Those outside, including Washington, have their own worry: that the EU might become too distracted with internal affairs to give proper attention to pressing business on the world stage.

When she met two senior EU officials on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried to urge on the expansion process, which many in France and the Netherlands want to slow down, in referring to a Europe which "of course" includes Turkey.

Global demands

Whilst it was understandable, she said, that the EU would experience a "period of reflection", the US continued to hope for an outward-looking Europe, not an inward-looking one.

EU'S GLOBAL ROLE Iran: pursuing diplomacy in nuclear crisis Iraq: helping reconstruction Middle East: encouraging Palestinians Afghanistan: peacekeeping forces Balkans: peacekeeping forces

Since his re-election in November, US President George W Bush has described strengthening the transatlantic relationship, after the damage caused by disagreement on Iraq, as a top priority.

A strong, united Europe has pressing international business to address.

It is currently leading the drive for a diplomatic solution in the nuclear crisis with Iran, providing a valuable counterweight to US impatience with Tehran and a growing determination in Washington to use sticks, not carrots.

It is playing a valuable role in the Middle East, cajoling the Palestinians to do their part in the struggle to keep the roadmap alive, as Washington performs a similar shepherding role with the Israelis.

It is supporting the US in its drive to nurture democracy in the Middle East.

And after the bitterness of divisions over war in Iraq, Europe is also starting to respond to American overtures to put those disagreements in the past and help with the slow, long-term process of rebuilding and stabilising the country.

Clear objectives

To be strong and convincing in tackling those tasks effectively, the EU must be clearly focused on its foreign objectives and not have its credibility undermined by a perception that it is riven by internal crisis.

The United States is clearly worried that its newly rediscovered global ally, the EU, is in disarray. A Europe gazing at its navel is not the strong partner Washington wants in the hectic field of international diplomacy.

It is certainly true that the current crisis will take time and energy to resolve. Europe is bound to experience a period of preoccupation as it learns to listen better to its people and find a new, more acceptable path forward.

But that need not mean Europe's influence must grind to a halt. As the row over Iraq reminded the world, EU foreign policy established in Brussels is certainly important - but can take a backseat to the policies and allegiances of its individual member countries, especially when they clash.