US President-elect Barack Obama faces a full plate of tasks when he takes office -- and Europe will be asked to the table. But will the EU be able to agree on its responsibilities and be willing to take on more? During his campaign, US President-elect Barack Obama said he believed the invasion of Iraq undermined efforts to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. He has vowed to focus more strongly on Afghanistan after taking office on Jan. 20. Yet with a serious economic crisis battering the United States, the new administration in Washington will have less financial leeway to put money into security issues. Analysts agree that Obama will call on the Europeans for help, for example in increasing the number of international troops in Afghanistan. According to the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin, the European Union has to be ready to face these demands.
During his campaign, US President-elect Barack Obama said he believed the invasion of Iraq undermined efforts to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. He has vowed to focus more strongly on Afghanistan after taking office on Jan. 20.
Yet with a serious economic crisis battering the United States, the new administration in Washington will have less financial leeway to put money into security issues. Analysts agree that Obama will call on the Europeans for help, for example in increasing the number of international troops in Afghanistan.
According to the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin, the European Union has to be ready to face these demands.
What responsibilities? And why should it be willing to take on more?
I believe the German Council of Foreign Relations is not saying what they mean:
According to the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin, the European Union has to be ready to facecave in to these demands.
