Polite-but Insistent-Questions

Five distinguished Europeans outline their priorities for President Reagan

Although every President since Herbert Hoover has visited Europe during his term of office, Ronald Reagan’s trip is in many ways unprecedented. No U.S. President has ever addressed either the assembled members of the British Parliament or the West German Bundestag. Few Presidents have had to prepare for quite so many questions about their foreign, defense and economic policies. Western Europeans are of many minds as to the ideas the President should stress during his visit. TIME asked five Western European leaders, four of them former Prime Ministers and one a former Finance Minister, to write their views of what President Reagan’s priorities should be.

The views of politicians who no longer hold national office were sought because they would be able to speak more forthrightly about the issues at stake and about the reception the President is likely to receive from his peers. Although the assessments differ in accent and tone, they are united by two strong, recurring themes: the need to control the arms race and to cope with a global economic crisis.