Nothing to Fear.

This article responds to Jeffrey L. Cimbalo's essay "Saving NATO From Europe," and examines the impact of the European Union on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In "Saving NATO From Europe," (November/December 2004), Jeffrey L. Cimbalo warns that a dagger is pointed at the heart of the Atlantic alliance, and the murder weapon is the European Union's draft constitution. Our point of departure is the conviction that the United States needs a strong, self-confident European partner that can bring its political, economic, and military weight to bear in addressing threats to common interests in Europe and beyond. Europe will effectively help the United States meet these challenges only if it becomes a more confident and cohesive actor--a goal reachable only through European integration. Notwithstanding the damage done to U.S.-European relations over the past four years, a large majority of European governments still value cooperation with the United States for the very same reason Washington should seek Brussels' support: because they can best advance their goals together. As a first step, the administration could directly engage and seek to empower the new European Commission president, Portugal's José Manuel Barroso, and the new EU foreign minister, Spain's Javier Solana, both of whom are Atlanticists and true friends of the United States.