Conversation on Transatlanticism and Europe Blog

When the NSA surveillance scandal became public, it eroded transatlantic trust, write Alexandra Brzozowski and Mitchell Wilkinson. This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018. Edward Snowden in 2013 Image credit: Wikimedia user McZusatz Snowden’s disclosures revealed that the NSA together with partner intelligence agencies, in seemingly limitless capacity, monitored and stored communications of almost all states. Reports disclosed it ‘ bugged offices, accessed internal computer networks, obtained documents and emails, and listened in on phone calls ’. Striking is, that while inside the US it was clear that some legal institutional limits are in place−as few as they may seem− there are virtually no restrictions on US intelligence activities abroad. However, the more daunting truth for leaders worldwide was that the US spied on other governments and did not distinguish between fri...

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 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 Victoria Bauer This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018. Earlier in May 2018, President Trump killed the Iran Deal which sends a strong message that the United States does believe that Iran’s nuclear programs are peaceful and nothing to worry about despite what the international community thinks and Europe’s best interests to keep the deal alive. Historically this issue has been problematic since 2003 after the US attack on Iran and how European leaders want to handle the situation. Smith and Steffenson describe the origins of the Iran Deal as such: “During 2003–4, differences surfaced between the EU member states and the US over how to handle nuclear weapons programs in Iran. These tensions reflected a longstanding divergence of approaches, with the Europeans having emphasized the value of ‘critical dialogue’ with Tehran and the Americans having adopted a strategy based o...