The European Union plans to propose working with US president-elect Barack Obama on key issues including Iraq and to pledge participation in foreign military operations, German media reported. "The world order has changed," said an EU document cited in an article to appear Monday in Der Spiegel weekly. "In it, the Europeans want to play their role alongside the Americans."
The EU proposals are to be officially presented to Obama after he takes office in January, according to the French foreign ministry. France currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency. "We have to work with each other and not against each other," it said. "Americans and Europeans must and can complement each other and take care of common responsibilities together."
The proposals are based on four key areas, according to Der Spiegel: reform of the UN and the G8; the Middle East; Afghanistan and Pakistan; and Russia. Europeans, in collaboration with the United States, will seek more dialogue with Syria and "immediately reengage in Iraq," the document says.
Declaring Europe's willingness to participate in international military missions, the document says legal or technical "difficulties" linked to such operations "are not an excuse for not acting". The document also says that "isolating Russia is not an option." Ties between Moscow and the West have grown increasingly strained, particularly following Russia's brief war with Georgia in August.
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