Interview: Obama could push US towards more protectionism[fr][de] 

Speaking to EurActiv, Lafond warned European leaders not to expect that all their problems would automatically disappear in the event that Obama wins the presidential elections in November. 

"For the moment, Obama seems attractive, but maybe public opinion will change when he is president and he follows policies not in favour of Europeans," he pointed out. 

Caution should particularly be applied to the area of free trade, Lafond argued. The EU and the US are currently aiming to bring negotiations with developing countries on a new global free trade agreement at the WTO to a close. Talks this week are considered the last opportunity to do so before the US leadership changes early next year.

"The window of opportunity is quite small. I assume if there is no agreement by the end of this week, it will be much harder later because the Congress will be very reluctant towards a more open space," Lafond said. 

On the contrary, progress can be expected on the environmental front, particularly regarding finding common ground when it comes to clear commitments on fighting climate change, according to Lafond. 

"You can clearly see that both candidates are committed to going in the same direction as European countries. In the last two years, the Bush administration has already recognised that climate change is caused by human action. That alone was already a change. So you can expect that the new administration will try to find common ways." 

Whoever wins in November will also be more inclined towards a multilateral approach to foreign policy than the current government of George W. Bush, Lafond believes. But in exchange for US pledges to be a better listener to its European partners, EU governments will also likely to be expected to show more commitments on the global arena, for instance by providing more troops in Afghanistan as Obama has already suggested, says Lafond.

However, he was sceptical as to whether Europe's leaders could deliver on this front. "In Germany, there will be elections and I am not sure whether the coalition government will be able to provide more troops. The same is true for the French President, who has already sent 1,000 additional soldiers this year […] Berlusconi is already faced with a very tight budget. And in the UK, Prime Minister Brown is faced with an increasingly critical population." 

Overall, Lafond's outlook for the transatlantic relationship is very positive. Regardless of the winner in November, "we can close the current chapter of transatlantic relations and with any new candidate it will be another story."

To read the interview in full, please click here.