BRUSSELS, BELGIUM– SEPTEMBER 29, 2025 – The Atlantic Council and Atlantik-Brücke will cohost the fourth Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics on September 30, 2025, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm in Brussels, Belgium.
Featuring senior policymakers, business leaders, and economics experts, this year’s Forum will focus on the United States – European Union relationship amidst ongoing global trade conversations, industrial change and opportunities, and geopolitical tensions.
“The future of the US-EU economic relationship is open for debate. Either we are entering a new era of competition between the world’s largest economies or coordination on shared challenges,” said Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics and senior director of the GeoEconomics Center at the Atlantic Council. “This year, the Forum returns to the heart of Europe to see which path both sides will take on the range of key frictions in the relationship – from AI to trade to defense spending to digital currency.”
The Forum will feature keynote addresses by Valdis Dombrovskis, commissioner for economy and productivity with the European Commission; Ambassador Andrew Puzder, US ambassador to the EU; Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition with the European Commission; Maroš Šefčovič, commissioner for trade and economic security with the European Commission; and Matthew Whitaker, US Ambassador to NATO.
Sessions will focus on sanctions enforcement, cross-border payments systems, trade, and supply chain vulnerabilities. Other speakers include:
- Elizabeth Baltzan, Former Senior Advisor to the USTR
- Jonathan Black, Deputy National Security Adviser and Prime Minister’s G7 and G20 Sherpa, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom
- Ambassador Daniel Fried, Former US Ambassador to Poland
- Edward Fishman, Senior Research Scholar, Columbia University
- Nils Schmid, Parliamentary State Secretary, German Federal Ministry of Defense
- Dan Tannebaum, Partner and Global Anti-Financial Crime Practice Leader, Oliver Wyman
- David O’Sullivan, EU sanctions envoy with the European Commission
Additionally, on the day before the Forum, the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center and Atlantik-Brücke released five issue papers that encompass a broad scope of challenges facing the international economy:
- “Stable US-EU trade requires a new approach to globalization” by Beth Baltzan
- “What drives the divide in transatlantic AI strategy?” by Ananya Kumar and Alisha Chhangani
- “The dollar in the fight for US primacy” by Martin Mühleisen
- “How to dismantle a reserve currency” by Daniel McDowell
- “Waiting for the Big Bang: Executing the European defense build-up in Germany” by Robin Fehrenbach, Jakob Flemming, and Julia Friedlander
The first two iterations of the Forum were held in Frankfurt and Berlin with the third Forum having shifted across the Atlantic to New York. This year, the Forum returns to Europe to further increase engagement between the US and European communities.
To register as media for the event, please reach out to Emily Hopkins at ehopkins@atlanticcouncil.org. To view the event virtually, please visit the website here.
About Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs, grounded in the Atlantic community’s central role in addressing global challenges. The Council provides an essential forum for navigating the dramatic economic and political changes defining the twenty-first century by informing and galvanizing its uniquely influential network of global leaders. The Atlantic Council—through the papers it publishes, the ideas it generates, the future leaders it develops, and the communities it builds—shapes policy choices and strategies to create a freer, secure, and prosperous world.
About Atlantik-Brücke
Founded in 1952, Atlantik-Brücke aims to deepen cooperation between Germany, Europe and America. Transatlantic cooperation is and remains a decisive factor for global order and stability, especially in difficult times. Now that nationalist tendencies are gaining popularity worldwide, Atlantik-Brücke is even more committed to its mission. It advocates multilateralism, open societies and free trade. As a non-profit and non-partisan association, Atlantik-Brücke strengthens the exchange between politics and business, but also between young leaders and representatives of civil society. It offers a platform for different perspectives and a lively debate. The approximately 800 members of Atlantik-Brücke are decision-makers from business, politics, science and the media on both sides of the Atlantic. Their expertise enriches the transatlantic debate and fosters mutual understanding. Membership is by invitation only.
