Embassy of the U.S. Tallinn, October 4, 2010
Last week American Ambassadors from across Europe met in Brussels to discuss American foreign policy with State Department senior officials and European leaders, including NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, and Supreme Allied Commander Europe James Stavridis.

Speakers reaffirmed that America's partnership with Europe is central to our foreign policy, and that America and Europe share the same goals for November's NATO and U.S.-EU Summits in Lisbon - namely beginning a lasting transition to the primacy of Afghan security forces in 2011, adopting NATO's new Strategic Concept, reform of the alliance to face 21st century threats, and expanding trans-Atlantic trade and investment. Participants also praised the reset in relations with Russia, pointing to the success of the new START treaty, and Russian cooperation on transit to Afghanistan and sanctions on Iran.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy spoke at length about the overarching principles of the EU as well as the organization's permanence. Rather than seeing the recent economic crisis as an existential threat to the EU, President Van Rompuy believes the European states are emerging from the crisis and that they weathered it well. He also stated that recent economic experiences have been a teaching moment and that a more narrowly-tailored system of financial oversight will be the lasting benefit.

Source: http://estonia.usembassy.gov/s...

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