EU-Washington Forum 2010: giving new impetus to the EU-US agenda

At the EU-Washington Forum, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, U.S. National Security Council Director for Europe, Pierre Vimont, French Ambassador to the United States and Álvaro de Vasconcelos, Director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies, explored issues of common interest between the US and the EU, and urged closer co-operation in addressing these issues.

Ms. Sherwood-Randall was pleased that with Lisbon in place, steps had been undertaken to enable the EU to "play a more effective role on the global stage". Yet, the Forum showed that it is not clear "what the answer will be when the phone call comes asking for a common foreign policy" as put forward by Director Álvaro de Vasconcelos and that the EU still needs time to restore order in its own house. Americans expressed a wish for the process to be sped up. The Europeans in turn urged the US to show patience as well as a stronger interest in the issues that are high on the European agenda, such as the Balkans, Russia and the Middle-East.

The annual EU-Washington Forum is organised by the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris with support of the European Commission, the EU Presidency and the Center for Transatlantic Relations of Johns Hopkins SAIS. The 2010 Forum featured interventions by, amongst others, Chuck Hagel, Pierre Vimont, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall (U.S. National Security Staff Senior Director for Europe), Nancy McEldowney (Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Department of State), Joao Vale de Almeida (Ambassador of the European Union Delegation), Susan F. Burk (Special Representative of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation) and Veton Surroi, the former leader of the Kosovo ORA reformist party.