With Angela Merkel speaking to Congress and an EU-United States summit set to begin on 4 November, Europe is present in force in Washington. But the European press warns against the illusion of a special transatlantic relationship, which is belied by the prospect of a tepid reception in the White House, and a US president who appears to be largely disdainful of Europe.

"When European commission president José Manuel Barroso and selected senior chums sit down for luncheon at the White House tomorrow, their genial stand-in host will be vice-president Joe Biden," writes Simon Tisdall in the Guardian, who further adds, "if this sounds like a bit of a snub, well, it is." The indifference bordering on disdain, which Barack Obama demonstrates for his European allies is a source of concern on the Old Continent, notes the British daily -- and according to the European Council on Foreign Relations, Europe has only itself to blame.

In its audit of EU-US relations published on 2nd November, the British think tank takes the view that Europe, which remains largely submissive with regard to the US, should stop fetishizing transatlantic relations, and come to terms with the advent of a post-American era, which will require it to change many of its attitudes and strategies. Unlike the United States, which has set aside the Cold War doctrine, "European states are still clinging to a belief in American hegemony, which leads them to adopt servile attitudes to Washington," observes Spiegel-Online. In fact, they are so determined in their desire to "flatter America" that they "become involved in ventures that are not necessarily in Europe's interest -- the war in Afghanistan being a case in point." From America's point of view, this conduct has a lot in common with the behaviour of "small attention seeking children," adds the on-line version of the German weekly.