A Beautiful Friendship

President Sarkozy and I are deeply committed to renewing and strengthening the dialogue between the United States and France.

The whole world is watching as the United States prepares to elect its next president. This man or woman will be chosen by Americans, but his or her choices will affect billions. Let us not take the tree for the forest, however. The current U.S. administration has certainly polarized emotions, but it would be a mistake to think that everything will change on Jan. 20, 2009.

For all their differences, and for all the tensions these differences create, the simple fact is that neither the United States nor Europe has another partner with the capability and the political will to act to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow.

For France, multilateralism did not come easily. We have learned the hard way that common rules agreed to by all, and respected by all, are the most effective means to secure our interests—by combining legitimacy and efficacy. Multilateralism is not a slogan; it is an imperative. Of course, this implies that when the common rules are broken, or ignored, the violator must pay a price. Whether we are speaking of international criminal justice or nuclear nonproliferation, impunity is not an option. This is what the leaders of the European Union meant when they placed "effective multilateralism" at the heart of the European Security Strategy in December 2003.

It is, obviously, for Americans to decide what course they want to plot for their country. But they should know that every time they choose to take the path of multilateral action, they will find France and Europe at their side. They will be America's friends always, albeit critical at times.

The challenges we face are similar, if not identical: integrating tomorrow's new powers into a renovated international order; promoting economic growth while preserving the environment; fighting global poverty. The same goes for the threats we face: the appeal of radical Islam; the spread of weapons of mass destruction.