Ambassador Étienne and Ambassador Vseviov join the Atlantic Council to share their takeaways for the transatlantic community from the NATO Leaders’ Meeting on December 4, providing the European perspective on the current state of the transatlantic relationship and the outlook for an incredibly consequential 2020. As we celebrate NATO’s 70^th anniversary, and look forward to the 70^th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration next year, the relationship between the United States and Europe faces new challenges—including a rapidly rising China and a revanchist Russia—and divisions between different members of the transatlantic community. These concerns offer an opportunity to think anew and reshape the current relationship to better tackle the challenges of the next decade and beyond.

Ambassador Étienne has served as Ambassador of France to the United States since September 2019. He previously held numerous posts within the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, notably including Ambassador of France to Romania (2002-2005), Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs (2007-2009), Permanent Representative of France to the European Union (2009-2014), Ambassador of France to Germany (2014-2017) and most recently, Diplomatic Adviser to the President (2017-2019).

Ambassador Vseviov has served as Ambassador of Estonia to the United States since August 2018. He has worked at the Estonian Ministry of Defense for 10 years. Until his appointment as Permanent Secretary in January 2016, Mr. Vseviov served as the Undersecretary for Defense Planning, the Acting Undersecretary for Defense Policy, and Director of Policy Planning. Ambassador Vseviov has had a leading role in shaping Estonia’s defense policy.