The Center for European and Transatlantic Studies presents its new conference report – A Changing Europe in an Uncertain World – compiled by Scott Brown and Alasdair Young, with a foreword from General (ret) Phillip Breedlove, former SACEUR and current Distinguished Professor within the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and CETS Senior Fellow.
Executive Summary
On April 13-14 2018 the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs’ Center for European and Transatlantic Studies and the Atlanta Council on International Relations organized an international conference to take stock of the European Union’s place in the world in light of the United Kingdom’s impeding departure; the untraditional foreign policy of the Trump Administration; and the new/renewed assertiveness of China and Russia. The conferon the economic opportunities in the relationship.ence was supported by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Program (Jean Monnet Center of Excellence Award 2017-2401); the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs; Alasdair Young’s Ivan Allen College Distinguished Researcher Award; and the Atlanta Council on International Relations. This report reflects views only of the participants, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained herein. The conference took place shortly after the Trump Administration announced that the EU would be temporarily excluded from the aluminum and steel tariffs it imposed on national security grounds; as the US, France and the UK struck Syria in response to the chemical weapons attack on Douma; and as the Trump Administration contemplated withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal (formally the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).
The conference participants reached six broad conclusions:
- Brexit will not dramatically affect the EU’s role in the world.
- Democratic backsliding in member states threatens the EU’s soft power.
- The transatlantic relationship is deep enough and sufficiently routinized to weather the Trump Administration and Brexit, but it will be a rough passage.
- Russia is both spurring cooperation among the EU’s member states and fostering divisions within them.
- China’s rise increasingly poses challenges and threats to the EU, but member states continue to focus on the economic opportunities in the relationship.
- The liberal international order is under threat from several directions, which poses a particularly significant challenge to the EU.
Download the report: A Changing Europe in an Uncertain World
Download other CETS working papers here.