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From the Lisbon Treaty to the Eurozone Crisis: A New Beginning or the Unraveling of
Europe?

Elena Nikolova

June 2, 2010
On June 2, 2010, the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe hosted its
annual conference entitled “From the Lisbon Treaty to the Eurozone Crisis: A New Beginning or
the Unraveling of Europe?”
Attended by employees of governments, think tanks, and other organizations, the event was
divided into three sessions, focusing on transatlantic relations, the undefined borders of Europe,
and the impact of the Eurozone crisis on European integration. Especially relevant was the first
panel entitled “The Beginning of Europe? Transatlantic Relations in the Post-Lisbon Treaty
Era.” The panel discussed the effects of the Lisbon Treaty – an institutional reform of Europe –
on the transatlantic partnership with the United States. Heather Conley of the Center for Strategic
and International Studies argued that the major problem for EU-US relations has been the
absence of a narrative for the past six years. Conley suggested that the post-Cold War chapter of
transatlantic relations closed in 2004 and the two entities are now operating in the post-Lisbon
chapter. The main challenges of this new chapter are that the EU and US have different priorities
and their relationship has become increasingly transactional. Mark Leonard of the European
Council of Foreign Relations complemented Ms. Conley’s opinion, arguing that the European
Union is led by a new cohort of officials who are primarily influenced by the economic crisis and
increasingly focused on geoeconomics and national concerns. These leaders also represent a
post-American cohort because they do not rely on the United States for protection and feel
frustrated by their relationship with the US. Mr. Leonard outlined a new era of Atlanticism based
on a transactional relationship between the US and EU, new alliances corresponding to the newly
formed positions from the Lisbon Treaty, and more bottom-up diplomacy rather than summit-
based decision-making.
Andres Ortega of Presidency of the Spanish Government gave a more positive outlook
for the transatlantic relationship and especially for the challenges posed by the implementation of
the Lisbon Treaty. He stressed that the partnership is necessary to propose global solutions to
global problems. Mr. Ortega also suggested that while it is needed to work on the future of
NATO and its relationship with the EU, it is equally important to consider that a transatlantic
framework should also include Latin America and Africa. The last panelist, Jeremy Shapiro of
the U.S. State Department steadfastly denied that the United States has shifted its strategic
priorities away from Europe and reassured the audience that the U.S. maintains robust relations
with its European allies.
It becomes evident that the Europe-United States relationship has changed given the
multipolar world of the post-Cold War order. The Lisbon Treaty seems to provide the tools for
the establishment of the EU as a global power. It allows for the construction of a European
diplomatic corps that would eventually become more powerful than the national foreign
ministries. The Treaty also creates a clear E.U. representative, making communication much
more effective and thus strengthening the authority of the EU in the international scene. Lisbon,
however, is still in the process of being implemented and in the meantime, the United States and
Europe need to confront the fact that they no longer have the same priorities. This should be an
opportunity to construct a more global agenda given the new nature of non-state threats such as
terrorism and climate change. Many of these new threats are still mutual threats, but of different
priority for each side. Overall, this new chapter of Atlanticism can be a positive progression of
relations if the two sides interact with new goals and priorities reflecting a more complex,
globalized international scene.

Elena Nikolova is a Research Assistant at the Streit Council.