European Commission President José Manuel Barroso was right. Had the European Union instead of the United States fallen into partial government shutdown, the world would not have hesitated to use this as an opportunity to berate Europe and its influence as a global leader, Mai'a K. Davis Cross and Jan Melissen argue in a recent EUobserver op-ed.
When faced with a crisis, European leaders often project a lack of resilience and self-confidence, they continue. Not everything is bleak, however, and the authors come with several suggestions on how to improve public diplomacy.
EUobserver, 22 October 2013