George W. Bush's stated commitment to European unity is not shared by all his friends in Washington, many of whom see the EU's growing muscle as a potential threat to US interests, writes Denis Staunton, in Brussels
If the transatlantic relationship is delicate and politically fraught, it is also fiendishly complicated, as President George W. Bush will discover in a series of meetings in Brussels today.
At NATO headquarters, a heavily-fortified complex in one of the city's more comfortable suburbs, he will meet the leaders of the alliance's 26 member-states along with the organisation's Dutch secretary-general, Mr Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Mr Bush will see many of the same faces around the table when he meets the 25 EU leaders later this afternoon at their headquarters, a brutalist sandstone building called the Justus Lipsius.
The EU leaders' meeting will be chaired by Luxembourg's prime minister, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, in his role as President of the European Council. A little later, Mr Bush will cross the road to the Berlaymont to see the President of the European Commission, Mr Jose Manuel Barroso.
The US President had dinner with his French counterpart, Mr Jacques Chirac, yesterday evening and he will have separate meetings today with Britain's Tony Blair and Italy's Silvio Berlusconi. He will travel to Mainz tomorrow for further talks with the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder.
Despite this bewildering array of interlocutors, Mr Bush is likely to hear the same basic message from each of them: America must treat Europe as a more equal partner if transatlantic co-operation is to be effective.
Four years ago, Mr Bush questioned publicly whether further European integration was in America's interest, and his administration encouraged divisions within the EU in the months before the invasion of Iraq.
In his speech at the Concert Noble in Brussels yesterday, the president won his loudest applause when he declared that Washington supported "Europe's democratic unity" and wanted a strong Europe because the US needed "a strong partner in the hard work of advancing freedom in the world".
Mr Bush's stated commitment to European unity is not shared by all his friends in Washington, many of whom perceive the EU's growing political and economic muscle as a potential threat to US interests.
Europe's leaders are aware, however, that their divisions over the Iraq war have damaged them, both in the eyes of the European public and in terms of Europe's wider influence in the world.
Governments from "Old Europe" and "New Europe" alike are determined that the stand-off within the EU over Iraq should not be repeated.
This desire for unity is evident in the coherent approach the EU has taken to two policy issues which divide Europe and America: negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme and moves to lift the EU arms embargo on China.
Smaller EU countries bridled at first when Germany, France and Britain launched a diplomatic initiative to persuade Iran to abandon activity which could lead to the development of nuclear weapons. The incorporation of the EU's foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, has given the engagement with Iran the character of an EU initiative, however, and all 25 member-states are now committed to it.
The move to lift the EU's arms embargo on China was led by France and met some resistance at first, notably from Britain. All member-states now agree that the ban will be lifted and they are negotiating a code of conduct on all EU weapons sales to ensure that sensitive military technology should not reach unsuitable hands.
Washington is moving towards a reluctant acceptance of the EU's new policy towards China and transatlantic differences over Iran concern tactics rather than goals. Both the EU and the US want to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons, but Washington believes that European diplomacy must be backed up by the threat of sanctions and that military action against Iran, although unlikely, should not be ruled out.
For their part, Europeans fear that their diplomatic initiative will not succeed without a guarantee from Washington that it will not attack Iran or seek to overturn its government.
Iraq is no longer the most neuralgic issue in the transatlantic relationship and the EU will today announce an increase in aid to the country and promise to train more Iraqi police and other officials.
The Middle East peace process remains the most divisive foreign policy issue, with Europeans complaining that the US is not exerting enough pressure on Israel to agree a lasting peace with the Palestinians. The death of Yasser Arafat has given the US an opportunity to engage more actively in the Middle East and Europeans listening to Mr Bush in Brussels yesterday welcomed his clear endorsement of a Palestinian state "with contiguous territory on the West Bank" and his call for a freeze on Israeli settlement activity.
EU officials claim that Washington is more receptive to European concerns than at any time during Mr Bush's first term in office. They express satisfaction at the role of Mr John Bruton as EU ambassador to Washington, suggesting that he has already opened doors on Capitol Hill which have long been closed to emissaries from Brussels.
Despite all this talk of reconciliation between the EU and the US, the transatlantic mood remains uneasy, and the most intractable dispute may be the most fundamental one - Europe's ambition in the world.
Mr Schröder alarmed many Americans earlier this month with his blunt call for a review of the transatlantic relationship and his declaration that NATO was no longer the primary venue for dialogue between Europe and the US. The subtext of Mr Schröder's remarks is that the US must get used to dealing with the EU as a coherent, equal partner capable of exercising independent power in the world.
Mr Bush surprised his audience in Brussels yesterday by quoting remarks by Albert Camus on "freedom being a long-distance race". The French existentialist offered another piece of advice - on friendship - which could be of use to the president as he continues his European tour: "Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."