I would like to note, however, that there are very large number of REAL situations where the best route for an EU-EU bound packet is via the US.
Depending on the providers in question, the specifics of their interconnects, and the explicits of any congestion mitigating traffic engineering, the shortest AS-Path announcement may come via an US peer.
Depending on the providers in question, the specifics of their interconnects, and the explicits of any congestion mitigating traffic engineering, the shortest AS-Path announcement may come via an US peer.