BRUSSELS, Belgium — Increasingly, when President Bush and other officials speak to Europe, they don't talk to Great Britain, France, Germany or any other individual country.

They speak instead to 25 countries welded into one mega-government, the European Union (EU) — certainly an economic competitor to the United States, and perhaps a political one as well.

Brussels-based "Eurocrats" have blocked U.S.-based mergers that violated EU anti-trust laws, and forced U.S. businesses to comply with European environmental standards.

The euro, which didn't exist before 2002, is now stronger than the U.S. dollar, a condition that could lead to higher interest rates in the United States.

In the political sphere, the EU is trying to cut a deal to halt Iran's alleged nuclear program, partly to stave off the threat of U.S. force; the EU is also expected to lift a ban on arms sales to China, despite U.S. objections.

While some government officials view the EU warily — another source of the recent trans-Atlantic rift — Bush made meetings with EU officials a centerpiece of this week's fence-mending trip.

"My government ... wants the European project to succeed," Bush said after meeting with EU officials at their Brussels headquarters. "It's in our interest that Europe be strong."

Hot topic

The rise of the EU has made it a hot topic among foreign-policy pundits, the subject of books and articles comparing European integration to the union of American states across the Atlantic. In his new book, T.R. Reid notes that EU now has more people, more wealth and more trade than the United States. It also builds goodwill by providing more foreign aid than the United States.

"The result is global economic and political clout that makes the European Union exactly what its leaders want it to be: a second superpower that can stand on equal footing with the United States," Reid wrote in "The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy."

To which skeptics say, not so fast.

Economic growth in many EU nations remains stagnant, analysts point out, a "Euro-sclerosis" that also reflects aging populations. EU countries such as Italy are actually losing populations.

Immigration is a potential solution, but many Europeans are averse to the idea, particularly when the in-comers are Muslims. The cultural divide between Muslims and Christians is the backdrop as the EU considers its latest applicant, Turkey.

Some analysts also point out that the EU could never become a major power as long as the United States provides most of its national defense. They say the Europeans' concept of "soft power," based on economic and cultural values, has its limits, especially in dealing with outlaw regimes.

"It's a competitor, it's a rival, but it's not an emerging economic superpower," said Fred Siegel, a history professor at the Cooper Union in New York City.

Rivalries

There also are lingering, if no longer violent, internal rivalries in Europe, other analysts said.

Some smaller nations, particularly in Eastern Europe, resent what they consider French and German attempts to dominate the entire group. Great Britain also has tangled with France and Germany, mainly over Iraq, as it tries to be a bridge between the United States and the EU.

The idea of a European Union came partly from one of Bush's heroes, the legendary British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He called for a "United States of Europe" shortly after World War II shattered the continent.

That said, the EU is not without power. Just ask General Electric, which saw its merger with Honeywell blocked by EU antitrust laws. Microsoft, meanwhile, is appealing an EU antitrust fine of $648 million.

And Airbus, with strong EU backing, is challenging Boeing in the business of building airplanes worldwide.

In the age of globalization, U.S. companies that want to do business in Europe — and there are a lot of them — have to abide by EU rules. That's why soft drinks are sold in 2-liter bottles.

Jeremy Rifkin, author of "The European Dream: How Europe's Vision Of The Future Is Quietly Eclipsing The American Dream," said many Americans don't understand the EU because "there's no precedent for it."

As opposed to the U.S. model of top down, command and control management, Rifkin called the EU an example of "network politics."

"No one institution can dominate, no one single country can dominate the group," Rifkin said. "You have to find a way to optimize the group to get something passed."

Rifkin and others also said most of the world supports the EU's goals of human rights, sustainable development and waging peace.

For all the recent happy talk between Bush and EU officials, the United States remains opposed to many items the Europeans regard as sacrosanct. They include the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto global-warming agreement.

The two also clash frequently over tariffs and trade barriers, particularly agricultural products.

Bush continues to defend the Iraq invasion, which still draws protests through Europe. Many Europeans openly fear more U.S. military action, either in Iran or Syria, or both.