It looks as though Europe is beginning to play a “forceful and distinctive role” in global politics. If so, how will it affect the foreign policy of the United States? In his International Herald Tribune article, “Europa: EU diplomacy, the way it’s supposed to happen,” Richard Bernstein draws attention to recent political events in which the European Union has braved the footlights.

This may be due to the increasing solidarity of the European Union, as its constitution nears adoption. Perhaps EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana’s ability to improv with the best of them has something to do with it. And then any media archive will show that, while Europe may have taken a supporting role in the past, where leadership of political actions is concerned, its think tanks and diplomatic relations have been hardworking members of the repertory.

Bernstein credits Solana for having taken the “clearest practical initiative” by “pointing both to a penalty and a possible way out for Ukraine” this Wednesday. Solana succeeded in obtaining a formal request for the EU to conduct a political mediation in Ukraine, after warning Moscow and Kiev the Ukrainian election results would remain unacknowledged by the 25 members of the EU should the request be denied.

John Palmer, the political director of the European Policy Centre, notes that the diversity of cultures, languages, and opinions among EU members seems to stimulate the EU’s motivation to reach a common understanding about which issues take priority and how to address them.

“You might think that because of the split in Europe over Iraq, the attempt to create common defense and foreign policies has been aborted. But that is not the view here. In fact, it’s partly because of the split that a serious effort is under way to find collective solutions.”

The United States might do well to observe the behavior of its eastward neighbor over the next four years; the publicized divisions along our nation’s racial, class, and political lines are proving as unnecessarily paralyzing and hazardous to the United States as harmful gossip hurts any earnest actor.