Conversation on Transatlanticism and Europe Blog

By Efthymia Eleftheria Fotou and Francisca Costa Reis This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018. Since its early days NATO has been a cornerstone of both the transatlantic relationship and European defense. Now that the United Kingdom, one of NATO’s biggest advocates within the EU, is set to leave the Union, the question remains how Brexit will affect the transatlantic bond. Evaluating the possible impact of Brexit on European and transatlantic security, it seems unlikely that a British exit from NATO would occur. The accession of the United Kingdom to the EU was not made with a strong commitment to the CSDP, however London has always been willing to contribute to the North Atlantic Trade Organization, firstly because NATO's transatlantic dimension has always matched the geopolitical direction of London and secondly because membership in the Alliance secured the national sov...

By Danilo Dovgoborets and Weibin Han This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018. NASA image of Deepwater Horizon oil spill In 1859, Edwin Drake’s oil wells in Pennsylvania opened a new chapter in history of energy consumption, as the industrial scale petroleum production took over the roles of other fuels and  replaced the previously prosperous American whale oil industry. BP (British Petroleum) represents one of the most entrenched transatlantic business relations with its largest division located in America. The company started in 1908, when William D’Arcy gambled all his fortunes on an oil rig in Persia. BP gradually became a multinational company as it acquired projects from India to Egypt to Trinidad. For a long time the company seemed invincible, until in April 2010 the Deepwater Horizon explosion struck the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. The disaster caused...