The official responsible for the European Union's foreign relations has lambasted US foreign policy, calling US President Bush's stance toward the rest of the world "absolutist and simplistic," a British newspaper reported Saturday.
The remarks by EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten follow similar comments made by French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin on Friday, when he criticized the apparent readiness of the Bush administration to pursue unilateralist foreign policy objectives.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Patten urged European governments to stand up to the United States, which he said is in danger of going into "unilateral overdrive."
"However mighty you are, even if you're the greatest superpower in the world, you cannot do it all on your own," he was quoted as saying.
Patten, like Jospin before him, took particular exception to Bush's labeling of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil."
"I find it hard to believe that's a thought-through policy," he said.
Patten said the European policy of "constructive engagement" with Iranian moderates and North Korea was much more likely to get results than an "unhelpful" US policy consisting of "more rhetoric than substance."
The broadside delivered by Patten, former chairman of Britain's Conservative party, has been echoed by other EU officials.
"It is humiliating and demeaning if we feel we have to go and get our homework marked by (Vice President) Dick Cheney and (National Security Adviser) Condi Rice," the Guardian quoted one unnamed EU official as saying. "We've got to stop thinking that the only policy we can have is one that doesn't get vetoed by the United States."
Patten expressed irritation at what he said was Washington's push to eradicate global terrorism at the expense of striking at the root causes of terrorism.
"When you're addressing that agenda, frankly, smart bombs have their place but smart development assistance seems to me even more significant," he said.
Patten called on the 15 member states of the European Union to speak out against certain US policies, and develop their own policies on such issues as the Middle East and global warming.
France Renews Criticism
In similar remarks made on Friday, Jospin warned the Bush administration that it should not press ahead with a unilateral approach or overemphasize the military component of fighting global terrorism.
Jospin spoke two days after French Foreign minister Hubert Vedrine blasted Bush for his "simplistic approach" to world politics.
"We hope the United States does not give in to the strong temptation of unilateralism," Jospin said.
France, a longstanding critic of what Vedrine calls the US "hyperpower," has strongly backed the campaign against terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
"But this does not mean that we must not reflect lucidly on the lessons we have learned from Sept. 11," Jospin said. "We cannot reduce the problems of the world to the single dimension of the struggle against terrorism, despite its pressing importance, nor rely on the predominance of military means."
Jospin also stressed the importance of international cooperation and the need to tackle the root causes of terrorism.
"Our conception of the world aims to create a more balanced international community ... based on a multilateral approach," he said.
"Cooperation means members of the international community can tackle together the roots of problems, since none of us can hope to resolve them alone," Jospin said.
(China Daily February 10, 2002)
