Conversation on Transatlanticism and Europe Blog

By Paulius Svetukaitis and Mathieu Panarotto This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018. The dedication ceremony for the US Embassy in Jerusalem Image credit: The White House via Wikimedia Commons The decision by the US to transfer its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem has not been met with endorsement by the European Union. Although the external action was more unified in comparison to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, some Member States remain deviant in broader multilateral fora. Although current US foreign policy towards Israel-Palestine infringed “Phase III” 1 of the “Roadmap for Peace” initiated by the “Middle East Quartet”, it does not rule-out the idea of a two-state solution nor the idea of Jerusalem as capital of both states. However, Trump’s decision challenges both the US long-term commitment and credibility to find consensus-based solution, and the role of the internati...

By Megan Eve O'Mahony and Ariadni Stavroula Zormpa This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018. Almost two years after Trump’s election, European leaders still struggle to make sense of his administration’s foreign policy. Trump’s “Doctrine of unpredictability” extends to the sensitive matter of  security and defense agendas. During his first State of the Union address , President Trump said his administration is restoring America’s strength and standing abroad. In a time where Trumps brinkmanship has challenged the global and international order, Europe seems to acknowledge, as Angela Merkel has posited , that the “times in which we could completely depend on each other, are to an extent over.” To begin with, under the “America first” foreign policy, Trump’s administration published in January 2018 a new National Defense Strategy. Τhe Pentagon’s central message is that “Int...