... there was not a common agreement on Iraq. Next to the US, countries like the UK, Poland, Spain and Italy supported the war, whereas Germany and France were heavily opposing it. Additionally, the policy of the United States was openly debated and criticized in Europe. Thus a "taboo" was broken. The implications of the fact that the EU member states were divided about the issue also challenged the Franco-German leadership in Europe. US secretary of State, Donald Rumsfeld, at a press meeting in January 2003, clearly challenged their position when he stated: "I think that's old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east and there are a lot new members. The vast numbers of other countries in Europe, they're not with France and Germany, they're with the United States" (BBC News, 2003). This clearly shows how the EU ...

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