Conversation on Transatlanticism and Europe Blog

by Allison Wheeler (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 11-May 9, 2019. Secretary Pompeo and Secretary General Stoltenberg deliver opening remarks at the NATO Foreign Ministerial Image Credit: US Department of State/Ron Przysucha,  Public Domain This year, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), celebrated its 70 th birthday.   Founded in 1949, NATO has bound western Europe and North America since almost immediately following World War II and has created a close defense alliance between what has grown from just 12 countries to now 29 countries.   NATO at this moment in history is at the center of a potentially pivotal conflict for the transatlantic partnership between the US and the EU. The EU, regarded most prominently and historically as a normative and economic power, has heavily relied on the “hard power” th...

by Jordan Evans-Kaplan (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 11-May 9, 2019. NATO Military Spending by member state GDP. Image Credit: Creative Commons The EU has always been and will likely always be the most key strategic partner to the US regarding NATO. However, the future of NATO remains cloudy amid a disruptive US presidency, and critiques of NATO on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite opposition and naysayers, it is quite an achievement of the European project that NATO has managed to exist this long, as it represents a solution to a problem from a bygone era. Created as a bulwark against Soviet aggression, this strategic partnership has stood the test of time since its creation in 1949 and remains the cornerstone of US-EU military cooperation. But what does the future hold for this critical component of transatlantic integration? NATO’s...

By Marie Brethous and Laura Skana This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018. Meet PESCO, the new kid on the block. NATO and PESCO states. Blue countries are only in PESCO, red are only in NATO, purple countries are members of both PESCO and NATO Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user JLogan ‘ More Security for the EU and its citizens ’ is what the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) will bring to the table. The initiative signed by 25 EU member states, aims to enhance their cooperation in the area of security and defence, by allowing them to jointly develop capabilities and therefore enhance EU’s role as an international security actor. The mandate for PESCO is defined in the Treaty of the EU , art 42(6), art 46 and Protocol 10. It is a specific CSDP mechanism that allows member states to voluntarily commit regarding defence and security. On 11 December 2017 the 17 collab...

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...

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...