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July 18, 2008 | Is the US Really Better Off With Sarkozy?

Nikolas Kirrill Gvosdev: Despite the proclaimed cooperative approach, Franco-American tensions could grow bigger than under Chirac. Sarkozy’s Euro-Atlantic, yet independent, foreign policy moves could well be at odds with the next US president’s understanding of multilateralism.

July 14, 2008 | America Votes, but Europe Decides on the Future of Transatlantic Relations

Jan Techau: Europe’s approach to the US will be decisive for the future of transatlantic relations. Though Bush will leave, the US will not be in a position to radically change its foreign policy. It is time for Europeans to become more American and acknowledge that the era of justifiable disagreement with America is over.

June 10, 2008 | Canada and the EU: From Transatlantic Economic Dialogue to Monologue

C. Deblock & M. Rioux: Canadians want to develop closer economic ties with Europe in order to reduce their dependence on the United States. However this new “European” policy is motivated by the wrong reasons and political and structural differences could prove insurmountable.

April 16, 2008 | Transatlantic Relations and "New Europe"

Lukas Vitalijus: Going-in-Between in Order to Survive

March 19, 2008 | Strengthening the EU to Strengthen NATO

Ambassador Victoria Nuland: “Europe needs, the United States needs, NATO needs, the democratic world needs – a stronger, more capable European defense capacity.”

April 30, 2007 | Brussels Forum 2007: Frank Talk on Transatlantic Relations

Eberhard Sandschneider: The conference from the German Marshall Fund closes a strategic gap between Davos and Munich. The transatlantic discussion forum should improve relations between Europe and the United States.

June 24, 2008 | Europe's "Obama Honeymoon" Could be Shortlived

Obama enjoys astonishing and unprecedented support in Europe. ++ The anti-Americanism fueled by Bush may have subsided, but this international popularity is not necessarily beneficial for a candidate who primarily needs to convince the electorate at home. ++ Europeans would be wise to lower their expectations: “once a President Obama engages with America’s allies, he will also expect them to

June 20, 2008 | It is Not Only Bush Who Was the Wrong Guy

Most people overlook that it was not one man alone who widened the gap between the two sides of the Atlantic, and that the bogeyman Bush often either approved or facilitated Europe’s own decisions. ++ The dramatic transformation of the United States has been more accompanied by Bush than promoted by him. ++ With or without Bush, transatlantic relations would necessarily have shaped America’s

June 17, 2008 | Deep Ideological Forces Cause the Transatlantic Rift

Whereas Europeans believe strong national or religious identities are detrimental to democracy, for Americans, expression of identity is a fundamental right. ++ This conflicting understanding of identity and democracy precedes the Bush era and will survive the election of someone new to the White House. ++ As a result of the fundamentalist threat, we are more likely to witness the resurgence of

June 12, 2008 | Bush Slowly Fades, as New Presidency Nears

On both sides of the Atlantic, politicians are certain that a new US President will mean big change on a broad range of issues, from climate change to Iraq. ++ In gearing up for a more “enlightened” era of transatlantic relations, governments and media have given little attention to Bush’s remaining days in office. ++ Although public opinion in Europe clearly reveals an Obama preference, Berlin,

June 2, 2008 | McCain Seeks Old Friends and New Enemies

Bush’s unilateralism has created a rift in transatlantic relations that is unlikely to be fixed by the next US president, unless the EU and the US share a common threat. ++ McCain frames the authoritarian capitalism of China and Russia as the ideological antipode to liberal democracy. ++ If he were to follow through on his planned League of Democracies and the restructuring of the G8, this would

May 20, 2008 | Rebalancing Britain's Foreign Policy

UK Foreign Secretary Miliband believes Britain should no longer be “the bridge” speaking for the US in the EU, and in the name of its European neighbors in Washington. ++ Even if the US remains Britain’s most important bilateral partner, Britain belongs to Europe. ++ Strong and trustful transatlantic relations need to be established together with France and Germany rather than unilaterally. ++

May 2, 2008 | The European Invasion of the US Market

The US market is experiencing the unprecedented inflow of large- and medium-size European investors. ++ Because of the extremely cheap US dollar, it became affordable for many European companies to relocate their production to the much more attractive American market. ++ While there is nothing that can stop this trans-Atlantic shift, it will have an enormous impact on the structure of the

April 22, 2008 | The West is Not a Strict Geographical Concept

NATO is threatened by growing protectionism, fear of terrorism, and the loss of faith of Europeans in values and institutions. ++ Its weakness prevents it from reforming. ++ Enlargement would enable promotion of western ideals the world over. ++ Since values override geography, Japan, Australia, and Israel should join now and others should be encouraged to, so as to effect democratic development

April 2, 2008 | Afghanistan at the Top of Bucharest Agenda

The first territorial war of NATO history in Afghanistan will be the hot topic at the Bucharest Summit. ++ NATO’s credibility seems tied to success in Afghanistan, therefore NATO governments should reach a consensus on new criteria for measuring success and failure. ++ Democratization and stabilization can be difficult to achieve and should not be measured on an all-or-nothing basis.

March 25, 2008 | Sustaining Western Leadership

The fact that the US and the EU are now responsible for under 30% of world exports indicates a decline of primacy. ++ Discussions held by the elites at the Brussels Forum highlighted the need for a closer transatlantic partnership when dealing with new global “state and nonstate threats”. ++ Internal discord in the EU and the US is hindering the focus on external common interests.

March 6, 2008 | Providing NATO with a New Strategic Concept

Currently, NATO’s means are solely military. ++ Yet today’s most urgent task is to prevent crises by eliminating reasons for armed conflict, so force should be the ultimate resort. ++ To avoid becoming a hollow transatlantic alliance, NATO should adopt a global rather than a regional outlook, reinforce collaboration with the politically legitimizing UN, and especially work closer with members of

July 23, 2007 | Time For a Transatlantic Consensus on International Law

William H. Taft and Frances G. Burwell from the Atlantic Council advise the EU and US to coordinate their positions before the ICC review conference in 2009. The transatlantic partners must set an example for the rest of the world.

With the review conference on the International Criminal Court (ICC) coming up in 2009, a concerted transatlantic effort to build global consensus on international

April 30, 2007 | GMFUS Foreign Policy Director Glenn Briefs Congress on Transatlantic Relations

German Marshall Fund Director of Foreign Policy John K. Glenn testifies before the US House of Representatives subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, drawing from data and analyses from GMFUS annual report, “Transatlantic Trends.” Glenn reports that though European opinion polls since 2002 have shown consistent decline in favorability towards America, Europeans

April 26, 2007 | Recasting the Euro-Atlantic Partnership

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership lacks an effective venue for cooperative policy discussion. The NATO summit has therefore become the default forum for taking inventory of transatlantic outlooks. Franklin D. Kramer and Simon Serfaty of CSIS suggest a convergence of NATO and European Union member states under a unified “council.” The so-called “Euro-Atlantic Forum” would eliminate what the authors