Europe Center Commentary & Analysis

The Europe Center uses real-time commentary and analysis to explain to key audiences in America current developments in Europe and how they affect the transatlantic relationship.

All timely commentary & analysis

New Atlanticist

Jun 13, 2018

Macedonia and Greece Settle Twenty-Seven-Year Dispute with a New Name

By Sarah Bedenbaugh

In the midst of a news cycle dominated by the historic summit between the United States and North Korea, one might be forgiven for overlooking the news of another diplomatic triumph. On June 12, the prime ministers of Greece and Macedonia announced that the two countries had reached agreement on a deal to end their […]

European Union Greece

New Atlanticist

Jun 12, 2018

Trump-Kim Summit: China and Kim are Winners

By Daniel Fried

The summit between US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 was not itself a bad idea. But signing an empty paper is questionable.  Adding a unilateral concession—suspending US-South Korean exercises without even consulting with our allies—smacks of careless frivolity.  Tactical unpredictability can be a tool. Strategic unreliability is […]

Korea United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jun 8, 2018

Trump Wants Russia Back in the G7

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s suggestion that Russia be invited back to a grouping of the world’s largest economies is likely to deepen divisions with allies already irked by the president’s policies. Trump on June 8 called for Russia to be reinstated into the G7 from which it was expelled following its annexation of Crimea […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2018

Iran: What Next?

By Peter Westmacott

There were few surprises when US President Donald J. Trump announced on May 8 that the United States was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. The United States and the other four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany, and the European Union negotiated the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2018

Slovenians First!

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Getting to the bottom of European populism In the early 1990s, Cologne hotelier Werner Peters would stuff his car full of donated clothes and toys and head south to Slovenia. The ten-hour drive would bring him and his supplies to refugees fleeing war in nearby Bosnia, a conflict engineered by strong man Slobodan Milošević, whose vision […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2018

The United States Needs its Friends

By Daniel Fried

Sometimes, even the United States needs friends. On September 10, 2001, the National Security Council staff where I then worked had in mind a whole other week from the one we got. Early on September 12, I was in Condoleezza Rice’s office as she worked to get our allies to invoke NATO’s Article 5 defense […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

May 31, 2018

In Defense of Orbán

By Zsigmond Perényi

An emotionally charged debate has resurfaced about the nature of Hungarian democracy in the wake of the ruling Fidesz party’s victory in parliamentary elections in April. While it is legitimate to have a well-reasoned and honest dialogue about Hungary’s current political landscape, a proper understanding of real-life events can only occur by sticking to the […]

European Union Hungary

New Atlanticist

May 2, 2018

The French Paradox of Emmanuel Macron

By Nicholas Dungan

Emmanuel Macron is on a high. But Emmanuel Macron also has a problem. How he addresses that problem, and whether he can solve that problem, will largely determine his success over the next four years and his chances of re-election for a new five-year term from 2022 to 2027.

France

New Atlanticist

Apr 27, 2018

The Korean Summit: Cautious Optimism

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The leaders of North and South Korea agreed on April 27 to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and work to formally end the Korean War this year. Making history, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walked across into South Korea where he was greeted by a beaming South Korean President Moon Jae-in. This was the first time […]

Korea

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2018

It’s Merkel’s Turn: Phase Two of Europe’s Tag Team Effort With Trump

By Jörn Fleck

There seemed to be a plan behind French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visits to Washington this week: a carefully choreographed tag team effort to tame US President Donald J. Trump’s unilateralist impulses on tariffs and the Iran nuclear deal that cause serious friction in transatlantic relations.

European Union Germany