National Review

published October 2005

"Is the European megastate destined to be America's rival, or even enemy?" Rockwell A. Schnabel, U.S. ambassador to the European Union from 2001 to 2005, is among the most astute observers of European affairs, and he urges American policymakers to resist Europhobia. In The Next Superpower? The Rise of Europe and Its Challenge to the United States (Rowman & Littlefield, 199 pp., $22.95), written with Francis X. Rocca, Schnabel says not just that European integration is here to stay but that it is not "in America's interest to undermine the EU project." By rejecting a "divide and conquer" strategy against the Continent, and instead "confirming our partnership with a united Europe," we may be able to encourage the EU to move toward greater economic freedom -- and that would certainly be in the U.S. interest. "The costs of damage to our $2.5 trillion annual commercial relationship," Schnabel says, "are grim to contemplate."

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