Edouard Balladur: For a Union of Europe with America

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Panel discussion co-sponsored by the Streit Council for a Union of Democracies, the European Studies Department, and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) - September 11, 2008

Summary

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At SAIS, Edouard Balladur spoke about a Union of the West to an overflow crowd of 250 people. Balladur was Prime Minister of France from 1993 to 1995. Current French President Nicolas Sarkozy was his budget minister and spokesman, and they are still close; Sarkozy rose within Balladur's wing of the Gaullist movement.

 

Balladur argues in his new book, For a Union of the West, that, for the sake of the shared human values of Western countries, and in face of a rising China, the return of Russia, and global terrorism, it is necessary to unite Europe and America organically. The International Herald Tribune noted that Balladur expresses in his book the "underlying premise" of Sarkozy's policies. The US edition will be released shortly.

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Balladur is an independent thinker, writer and political figure. He has been a leader within the Gaullist movement for many decades. He is credited with having drawn the mainstream of French Gaullists back into a pro-European Union stance and into abandoning anti-American attitudes.

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From the book cover: "In this book, Balladur puts an ambitious perspective before Europe and America: to combine their forces in a Union of the West, building on their existing arrangements for unity, adding new ones, and putting to the side their prejudices against each other. As Asian powers emerge and the global balance shifts, a Union of the West is needed to absorb the shocks, stabilize the world order, and maintain the Western roles that are still indispensable for global security and prosperity. Balladur offers a series of practical steps to build a Union of the West. His proposals take on added importance now that his protégé, Nicolas Sarkozy, has come to hold the presidency of France and, for a time, of the European Union as well."

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Panelists
 

Stanley Sloan, The Streit Council for a Union of Democracies
Click here for the transcript of Sloan's Comments and Balladur's response.

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Daniel Hamilton, Center for Transatlantic Relations, SAIS
Click here for the transcript of Hamilton's Comments and Balladur's response.

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David Calleo, Director of European Studies, SAIS
Click here for a transcript of audience questions and answers.

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