Italy's foreign minister said Thursday that President Barack Obama has changed America's relationship with Europe, generally but not always to the continent's benefit.
Obama's use of what he calls "smart power," combining "hard power" _ military or diplomatic muscle _ and "soft power" _ development, reconstruction and the like _ is bringing U.S. policy closer to the European approach, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.
"Yet this implies more responsibilities on Europe's shoulders," he said. "The new U.S. administration now relies even more on Europe's support and contribution to address the most relevant issues of the international agenda."
That means, Frattini said, "we cannot afford any longer to fail in matching American expectations if we don't want to undermine the whole of our mutual relations."
In short, he said, "Europe must get its act together. We need a stronger Europe, a global player which can be a serious and reliable partner to the U.S."
That Europe, he told an organization dedicated to Italian-American heritage and culture, would be "an ally who is finally capable of producing security, instead of being a net consumer at American's expense."
Regarding trans-Atlantic relations, Frattini said, "A strong Europe needs a strong U.S." because "Washington is and will remain `the' crucial international player.
"More Europe, not less America: this should be our motto."
Frattini emphasized Italy's coming presidency of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, during a crucial year for the world.
The universal economic crisis will make globalization ever more important, Frattini said.
Italy will change the format of the summit meeting of the G-8 industrialized countries _ Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and United States plus Russia. This year, he said, The eight, meeting at earthquake-devastated L'Aquila, Italy, will emphasize its relationship with an expanded Group of Five emerging economies _ Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, and for the first time, Egypt.
That country is being added, Frattini said, "in light of its quality as an African, Arabic and predominantly Muslim nation."
