Romney, left, with Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski during his July trip to Warsaw.

The US presidential debates begin on Wednesday, and if the previous year of campaigning is any indication, Europe is unlikely to be much of a topic. Despite the ongoing eurozone turmoil, the crisis barely registered on the election’s radar screen, even during the contentious and debate-heavy Republican primary process.

Republican Mitt Romney’s views on Europe were largely overshadowed by the gaffes committed on a trip to Britain and Poland earlier this year. But little noticed outside Washington policy circles, the former Massachusetts governor last year appointed two co-chairs to a “Europe working group” within his foreign policy advisory team.

One is well-known to Brussels: Kristen Silverberg, who was the Bush administration’s last ambassador to the EU before leaving office in 2009. But potentially more interesting is the other co-chair: Nile Gardiner, a Briton who served as an aide to Margaret Thatcher before moving to the US, where he now works for the conservative Heritage Foundation.

If a recent article in the Washington Times is any indication, Gardiner holds some strong anti-EU sentiments that could have an impact on a future Romney administration. Read more