Brussels, Belgium ? Eager to ease America’s international burdens, Secretary of State Colin Powell urged European allies to step up cooperation in support of U.S. efforts concerning terrorism and conflicts from the Middle East to South Asia.

Powell told a gathering of young people Wednesday that trans-Atlantic institutions have been acquiring responsibilities on a global scale in recent years, notwithstanding the “bumps and bruises” and “blustery days” stemming from key European countries’ opposition to the Iraq war.

Although he has only a few weeks left in office, Powell’s message for the Europeans was decidedly aimed for the long-term.

“We need to have the courage to seek fundamental change and not be satisfied with just managing or containing threats,” Powell said. “We must be able to create and seize opportunities.”

Powell said the challenges now facing the United States and Europe are more diffuse and harder to counter than those of the Cold War. Terrorism, trafficking in weapons, narcotics and people and transnational crime are among the threats that will require greater cooperation, he said.