In November 2006, Angela Merkel took office of chancellor of Germany. In May this year, Nicolas Sarkozy became master of the Elysee Palace in France. And in June, Gordon Brown became prime minister of Britain. The impact of these consecutive leadership changes on the development of European Union (EU) has been at the forefront of public attention, as they tackle thorny international issues.

The United States, for example, is attempting to control the EU by exploiting the differences between the so-called "New Europe" and "Old Europe," while Russia is using its vast energy resources to sow discord in the EU. Faced with these pressures, the three new EU leaders must learn to get along well with each other and gradually mitigate their existing differences to improve EU solidarity and the union's status as a big power in the international arena.

Despite the EU's continued enlargement, the union has virtually stagnated on political matters because of internal differences that arose after French and Dutch citizens voted down the proposed EU constitution. EU-U.S. relations, which grew worse because of objections to the Iraq War by former French President Jacques Chirac and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, have started to improve.

On the other hand, EU-Russian relations face various difficulties and are hard to predict under the three new European leaders. As for China, the EU is asking the country to shoulder greater responsibilities for the world due to competitive pressure, thanks to China's fast development.

Pushing the EU

It is the common aspiration of the EU countries to free the union from the tough political dilemmas it faces. Soon after taking office, for example, Merkel committed herself to resolving the problem of the EU constitution. During her tenure as EU chairperson in the first half of this year, she engaged in a lot of diplomatic activities to achieve this goal. Likewise, on the very day he was elected president of France, Sarkozy immediately began to push the EU member countries to restart discussions on the EU constitution and declared "France is back to Europe."

The heads of states exchanged visits between Germany and Poland, France and Poland, and Germany and France and made mutual concessions, forming a foundation for the success of the summit meeting held in Brussels on June 23. The meeting reached a consensus on the framework and contents of the new constitution and set forth a "roadmap." It is predicted that the EU member countries will start the ratification process in 2008. France and Germany managed to persuade Poland, Britain, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands to proceed based in the name of the EU's overall interest. The bond between Germany and France will remain the driving force of the enlarged EU. The EU's 27 member countries have eliminated differences, emphasized their common interests, consolidated their cohesion, maintained the direction of the EU development and enhanced the public's confidence on the future development of the EU.

Different strokes for different folks

The three new EU leaders must work together for Europe to reclaim its position on the center stage of international relations - a somewhat tricky task, considering their different backgrounds, experiences and personalities.

Merkel was brought up and educated in East Germany, Sarkozy is of Hungarian descendant, and Brown is a Scot. Merkel also comes from a different political party from that of Schroeder.

The three new European leaders are different from their predecessors in leadership characteristics. It appears that the differences between Brown and Tony Blair on EU and international policy issues are remarkably smaller than the differences between Merkel and Schroeder, and between Sarkozy and Chirac. But the actions of the new leaders will inevitably differ from their predecessors.

Among the leaders of the three EU powers, Merkel is moderate and steady, Brown is taciturn, and Sarkozy, full of unexpected acts and words, is regarded as an "oddity" in political circles. While remaining objective to Britain joining the euro zone, Brown will weigh Britain's interest in the matter against the tendency of EU development over the long term. In the near future, Brown will be on good terms with Sarkozy who admires Britain's economic system.

Merkel and Brown are both practical, and their fathers are both pastors. Hence, it will not be hard for them to get along. Sarkozy and Merkel, however, have very different personalities. It appears that it would take time for them to develop the seamless cooperative relationship that the previous German and French leaders enjoyed. Believing that the overvalued euro is not good for the European economy, Sarkozy insists on the European Central Bank's interference in the euro's depreciation, a move that Germany opposes. And Germany complains about France's various projects in Libya, including a memorandum on nuclear power that Sarkozy signed without coordinating with Germany and other EU members.

Mending Relations with America

When the United States and Britain started the Iraq War in 2003, German-U.S. and French-U.S. relations plummeted. Nevertheless, leadership changes in Germany, France and Britain present the best opportunity to mend EU-U.S. relations.

Since taking office, Merkel has met U.S. President George W. Bush five times. The two countries have worked closely with each other and strengthened their coordination on significant international issues, including the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear issue.

During her first visit to the United States in November 2006, Merkel proposed establishing a Europe-U.S. free trade agreement and a trans-Atlantic economic partnership that would let Europe and the United States reach a consensus on uniform technology standards, surveillance regulations, enhancing investment, protecting intellectual property rights and promoting financial market integration.

Sarkozy is considered a right-wing pro-U.S. politician. Although he views the U.S. invasion of Iraq as a serious mistake, his attitude toward the United States is sharply different from that of Chirac. Before he was elected president, Sarkozy visited the country and after meeting with Bush, said publicly that "anti-Americanism was an elite indulgence not shared by the French at large." He also followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's example and vacationed in the United States and visited Bush's family home in Kennebunkport, Maine, immediately warming Franco-American relations.

The French Defense Minister Hervé Morin and Hubert Védrine, the country's former foreign minister, made a proposal to Sarkozy that France return to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to rebuild good relations with the United States and improve the country's position in the NATO. It was reported that Sarkozy would pay another visit to America to discuss France's return to NATO with U.S. leaders.

Britain and the United States have always maintained a special relationship, to which the change of major political figures in Europe will not bring any substantial changes. Britain always has serves as a bridge for the United States to reach Europe. However, Brown will not follow the U.S. administration's every step, as Blair did. For domestic reasons, he will insist on a pullout from Iraq, which will influence Britain's relationship with the United States.