With George W. Bush back in the White House, the world's most successful alliance faces its most difficult period yet. During Mr Bush's first term, America's alliance with Europe's democracies, which had won the cold war and opened up much of the world for free trade, almost fell apart over the conflict in Iraq.

The president's second term and European reaction to it will reveal whether a lasting realignment is in store - and what that means for the common transatlantic agenda of security and prosperity. And while the desire for a closer transatlantic relationship has already emerged as a theme for the second Bush administration, Europe is pulling away from the US on some of the most sensitive subjects in international politics.