In 1973, Henry Kissinger expressed irritation with Western Europe’s inability to respond constructively to his initiatives. By creating separate but overlapping fora to manage their relations with the outside world, the West Europeans had failed to designate a single decision-maker with whom Kissinger could consult and negotiate in the manner to which he was accustomed in relations with the Soviet Union and China. In relations with these and other states, he was assured of direct contact with a leadership that was in a position to negotiate across a wide range of political, economic and military issue areas. In Europe Kissinger found his interlocutors responding to his 1973 ‘Year of Europe’ speech in an ambiguous and divided manner. The French Ambassador to the United States argued that ‘it would be hard for Europe to respond with one voice to so vast an agenda’ (quoted Kissinger 1982:154). Yet, the response of the German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, during a visit to Washington, best illustrated Europe’s difficulties in presenting itself to the rest of the world:

None of us meets you any longer solely as the representative of his own country but at the same time already, to a certain degree, as a representative of the European Community as well. So, I, too, am here not as the spokesman of Europe, but definitely as a spokesman for Europe.