Accept, prepare, leverage: How Europeans can manage a changing transatlantic security partnership in the Trump era
The transatlantic security partnership is entering a new phase. Europeans must assume greater responsibility for their own defence as the United States under President Donald Trump no longer prioritises Europe. Trump’s approach to trying to end the war in Ukraine, including attempts at direct negotiation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and ambiguous security guarantees for Kyiv, pose significant challenges that risk undermining the transatlantic security relationship.
For the foreseeable future, however, European security will continue to depend on the United States. To manage that reality, European governments face three main tasks: first, to understand and accept Trump’s political calculations and interests; second, to prepare NATO’s European members and the EU to take the lead on their continent’s security; and third, to ensure that guarantees for Ukraine are credible enough to deter renewed or enhanced Russian aggression.
Read the full policy brief here.
Iana Maisuradze is a Junior Policy Analyst in Europe in the World Programme.
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