The White House will get a first- hand account this morning of the breakdown in European unity when EU leaders meet President George Bush for a scheduled summit in Washington.
American officials have watched the unfolding debacle over the European constitution, and now the budget, with mixed feelings.
There is little sympathy for the setbacks suffered by French president Jacques Chirac and German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who opposed US action in Iraq.
Some US officials will also take quiet satisfaction from the fact that Europe is patently now unable to position itself as a counterweight to the American superpower, a concern often voiced during the run-up to the Iraq war.
However, Washington is today relying on a united Europe to provide crucial political support on a number of global issues, including Iraq, Iran, North Korea and the Middle East.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said after EU-US talks earlier this month: "We are confident that this partnership will continue to grow and to be put to use in the service of great goals."
That confidence will still be on display today, but disarray in the 25-nation European bloc has made it more difficult for the US to win broad consensus for its global ambitions. The worst thing for Washington would be a Europe turned in on itself, a senior administration official said. "We will be reaching out to the Europeans to work with them and make it clear that they are involved in an active agenda with us," said the official.
The EU delegation is led by Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, current president of the European Council, and includes Javier Solana, high representative for common foreign and security policy; Peter Mandelson, commissioner for trade; and José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.
Discussion will mainly focus on transatlantic economic integration and growth, promotion of democracy, reform of the UN and multilateral policy, the fight against terrorism and for non-proliferation, environmental and energy issues, as well as development aid, according to the Luxembourg presidency.
The summit takes place ahead of an Iraq International Conference, co-hosted by the EU and the US on June 22nd in Brussels, and is expected to launch an initiative to enhance transatlantic economic integration and growth.
Mr Bush will be seeking a display of approval for his Iraq policy and for the promotion of democracy there and in other countries to counter a growing erosion of support for the Iraq war in the US.
Washington and the EU also need to co-operate on raising funds for Palestinian areas evacuated by Israel after its Gaza pull-out in August, and will be seeking a common approach to China where the US is opposing EU plans to lift an arms embargo.
The summit is also likely to touch on the bitter EU-US trade dispute over direct and indirect subsidies to the new generation of passenger planes being built by Airbus and Boeing.