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Report October 7, 2024

Transatlantic horizons: A collaborative US-EU policy agenda for 2025 and beyond

By Atlantic Council experts

This year marks a critical moment for the transatlantic relationship. Elections on both sides of the Atlantic will usher in new governments, administrations, and commissions for some 785 million people across the United States and European Union (EU). Transition and turnover for a new US administration and European Commission specifically offer a chance to reflect on what’s working in US-EU relations and to adapt what’s not.

This report offers an agenda for common US-EU action to meet today’s challenges and set a productive vision for transatlantic relations for years to come. It identifies the issues policymakers must tackle and presents actionable recommendations for the next US administration and European Commission. The topics are varied, highlighting the breadth and depth of the US-EU relationship.

The analysis and recommendations are nonpartisan, but they are driven by the Atlantic Council’s conviction that we are stronger together. From technology policy to the green energy transition and support for Ukraine, Washington and Brussels both benefit when they collaborate.

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Foreword: A new agenda for the next four years of US-EU relations

Daniel Fried and Jörn Fleck

The transatlantic partnership, powered by the US-EU relationship, is a geopolitical necessity. From the other side of the world to each other’s backyards and into cyberspace, Washington and Brussels need each other.

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Unleashing US-EU defense cooperation

Rachel Rizzo

Instead of pushing back against European defense efforts as it has done in the past, Washington must fully embrace the steps the EU is now taking—including the European Defense Industrial Strategy—and build on nascent structures for US defense cooperation with the EU.

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Leveraging Europe and the EU as a defense power

Rob Murray

Successful transatlantic defense cooperation will depend on securing adequate funding, streamlining procurement processes, and transforming production capabilities.

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Looking ahead to the next chapter of US-EU digital collaboration

Frances Burwell

There are opportunities for further collaboration, especially in addressing emerging technologies and the risks both sides face from bad actors in the digital sphere. Whether this will be an effort driven by the EU or one in which the United States is an equal partner is not yet certain.

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Navigating between data war and peace

Kenneth Propp

Since the revelation of the US National Security Agency covertly collecting Europeans’ electronic communications, companies have contended with uncertainty over whether to continue to transfer personal data from Europe to the United States. A settlement should be the focus of the next administrations, or the conflict could flare again.

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Reenergizing transatlantic trade dynamics over the coming years

Erik Brattberg

Policymakers in the United States and the EU should recognize the importance of the transatlantic trade relationship. Instead of bickering over tariffs or pursuing protectionist regulations, they should take practical steps to upgrade their economic relationship for a more geopolitically challenging era.

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Closing the gap between Mars and Venus on trade

L. Daniel Mullaney

With a new US administration and European Commission in place, it will be more critical than ever that the United States and the EU coordinate their approaches to international trade across a wide range of issues.

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Treating the green transition like the geopolitical imperative it is

Carol Schaeffer

The urgency of the green transition is not going away. Policymakers should adopt a NATO-style approach to long-term decarbonization and work to boost the green economies of the United States and the EU together, not separately.

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Getting transatlantic coordination right for Ukraine

John E. Herbst

Policymakers must continue to supply assistance to Ukraine and eliminate restrictions placed on the use of the weapons provided. They should also make progress on the $50 billion loan to Ukraine using Russia’s state assets and secure Ukraine’s electricity grid against Russia’s attacks on civilian infrastructure.

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Bridging US-EU interests and action for the Indo-Pacific and China

Léonie Allard

Europe and the United States need greater clarity in defining their common interests and policies on China. The next US administration can build on the transatlantic agenda and benefit from some impetus in the European Commission to better frame the agenda on China and with Indo-Pacific countries.

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Realizing a bolder transatlantic agenda for cooperation with Africa

Rama Yade

Recent initiatives could be a beginning in the revitalization of cooperation between the United States and the EU in Africa. The success of this cooperation, however, depends on a better understanding of African needs and a greater inclusion of Africans in global governance.

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Working on a new transatlantic approach toward the Western Balkans

Maja Piscevic and Ilva Tare

The Western Balkans is a region neither the United States nor the EU can afford to ignore or mishandle. The United States and the EU must work together, and play to their own respective strengths, to prioritize democratic and economic growth and alignment with the West.

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James Batchik served as the rapporteur and editor of this report. Stuart Jones and Jacopo Pastorelli also contributed to the report.

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Related Experts: Daniel Fried, Jörn Fleck, Rachel Rizzo, Rob Murray, Frances Burwell, Kenneth Propp, Erik Brattberg, L. Daniel Mullaney, Carol Schaeffer, John E. Herbst, Léonie Allard, Maja Piscevic, Ilva Tare, Rama Yade, James Batchik, Stuart Jones, and Jacopo Pastorelli

Digital Policy Economy & Business Elections Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia European Union NATO Security & Defense Technology & Innovation United States and Canada

Image: A worker adjusts a US and European Union flag at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, November 11, 2013. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS).