Reagan also sought to strengthen the U.S. strate-
gic position by pressuring Western European na-
tions to allow him to deploy medium-range Pershing
and cruise missiles equipped with nuclear warheads
within their borders, where they would be within
striking distance of Eastern European targets. He
wanted Western nations to increase their military
budgets, as the United States had done, and to adopt
all of his anti-Soviet policies. Many European leaders
resisted, believing that a softer approach to Moscow
was more prudent. They viewed Reagan as a danger-
ous “cowboy,” shooting from the hip, although many
of his policies had been employed by President
Jimmy Carter’s administration as well. The German
government in particular resisted missile deploy-
ment, because German public opinion was so
strongly against it. Reagan knew this, but he hoped
that his hard-line public statements might help the
government to resist the will of its people. Arms re-
duction talks continued in a haphazard manner
throughout the decade, until Gorbachev came to
power and a treaty was worked out in 1987.
Reagan objected to contracts between the Euro-
pean Community and the Soviet Union to build nat-
ural gas pipelines. As a result, in 1982, Washington
banned the use of any U.S. technology in the proj-
ect. The ban was lifted later in the same year, how-
ever, once the administration reached an agreement
with the European Community on trade policies.
By the end of 1982, many European member-
states of NATO had decided to ignore the objections
of antinuclear and nationalist movements within
their borders and were moving toward agreement
with Washington to deploy intermediate-range nu-
clear missiles. The American proposal was called the
zero option solution, and it linked reduction of U.S.
missiles in Western Europe to a corresponding re-
duction of Soviet intermediate-range missiles and
mobile launchers in Eastern Europe. Vice President
George H. W. Bush traveled to Europe to lobby for
the American plan. He also visited Romania, show-
ing support for President Nicolae Ceaulescu, who
publicly opposed Moscow on a number of issues.
In the Western Hemisphere, Washington gave
some support to London during the Falkland Is-
lands War of 1982, but it chose to remain officially
neutral during the conflict. The British reacted with
bitterness to this decision by a supposed ally. Mean-
while, Greece under Andreas Papandreou took issue
with American bases and nuclear missiles being lo-
cated within the country but ultimately relented, be-
cause it needed U.S. support against Turkey. Spain
also renewed its treaties with the United States, al-
lowing it to maintain bases in Spanish territory until
at least 1988. Spain was accepted into NATO in 1982.Canadian-European Relations Prime Minister Tru-
deau disagreed with Reagan about linking disarma-
ment to Soviet behavior. He also chastised Thatcher
when she visited Canada, accusing her of engaging
in “megaphone diplomacy.” However, beginning in
1984, when Conservative Brian Mulroney became
prime minister, Canada supported Reagan’s policies
as well. In 1984, Reagan and Trudeau traveled to
Normandy to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of
the Allied invasion of France in World War II. Rea-
gan took the opportunity to denounce the Soviets
once more for remaining in control of Eastern Eu-
rope even after the war was over.
Canada in 1982 severed its last legal ties to the
United Kingdom with the passage of the Canada Act
of 1982, and it became a fully sovereign nation. The
cultural ties of most of the nation to the former
home country and to its royal family still remained,
however, causing continued tension between British
Canadians and French Canadians. In fact, when Eliz-
abeth II visited Canada to proclaim the constitution,
Quebec sovereignists led by provincial premier René
Lévesque refused to attend the ceremonies.Impact The conservative political shift and eco-
nomic expansion witnessed by the United States in
the 1980’s was mirrored in many respects in the
United Kingdom, and the Americans and British of-
ten allied to set the agenda for the rest of NATO dur-
ing the decade. There were tensions within the alli-
ance, especially regarding trade and the extent to
which the governments of Europe should follow the
dictates of Washington rather than those of their
own people. On the whole, however, U.S.-European
relations were defined by Cold War politics during
what would prove to be that war’s last decade. If Eu-
ropeans were divided over Reagan’s policies during
the Cold War, moreover, they would continue in its
aftermath to debate the extent to which those poli-
cies deserved credit for the revolutionary events in
Eastern Europe that brought the decade to a close.Further Reading
Goldstein, Walter, ed.Reagan’s Leadership and the
Atlantic Alliance: Views from Europe and America.The Eighties in America Europe and North America 345