Europe is asking U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to afford the European Union a greater role in world affairs. Given Obama’s warm overtures to the Continent during his campaign, and his cosmopolitan outlook, it has good reason to expect a positive response.

A six-page letter to Obama, agreed upon by the EU’s foreign ministers at a meeting on Monday, suggested four priorities for the new American administration. This agenda, if followed, will presumably alleviate global tensions while simultaneously increasing Europe’s standing in the world.

The letter calls on the future Obama administration to: 1) improve its efforts in Afghanistan; 2) acknowledge Russia’s newfound power, and intensify diplomatic efforts alongside Europe in order to avoid a confrontation; 3) prioritize the Middle East peace process and accept the EU as a co-guarantor of a peace agreement; and 4) more deeply entrench itself in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the G-8, and commit to European-backed reforms of these bodies.

How much the new administration accepts such suggestions remains to be seen, but the new president-elect has set himself up for just these sorts of requests. He has spoken often of the virtues of multilateralism, and campaigned on a promise to improve America’s ties to and cooperation with nations abroad.

In addition, he has been clear about his desire for a more muscular Europe. “We need a strong European Union,” he said during his campaign speech in Berlin, “that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad ….” He also supports European enlargement, calling it “history’s most successful democratization strategy.”

Biblical prophecy describes a “lover”-type bond developing between the United States and Europe, Germany in particular. The groundwork for this relationship has been laid for years; expect it to be cemented in an Obama-led Oval Office, as overtures such as that extended by the EU foreign ministers receive an unprecedentedly warm hearing.

But just as prophecy foretells of this relationship, it reveals its surprising outcome. And it does not produce an outcome in America’s best interest. To learn more, read the section in our booklet Nahum—An End-Time Prophecy for Germany titled “The German Double-Cross.”