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 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 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...

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...

By Jessica Mrase CEURO participants visit Brussels. Jessica is fourth from the right, in the beige trench coat. When the CEURO project was in its early stages, I had already fully committed to it. Nothing had been set, and we weren’t sure of any details, but I knew that somehow, I would be a part of it. I believed in the project, the course, and the trips abroad. It was something original and being part of that would be an honor. Returning to Leuven was something I had always thought of doing, but never knew if it would happen. With the CEURO course, I was able to travel back to Leuven and revisit the city that captured my heart two years before when I had studied there for a semester in my undergrad. I had a grand plan of sleeping the entire way across the Atlantic so that I would be ready to hit the ground running as soon as we landed, and that was very much the case. I wanted to serve the others in my group as a guide and show them all the wonderful parts of Leuven. Showing t...