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The Americas

The transatlantic relationship has been the cornerstone of the EU’s foreign and security policy. However, in a context where some in the US are looking inwards and questioning the values and institutions their country has built internationally, expectations on Europe have increased. The rise of new global power centres has added a new dimension to transatlantic debates, and both sides of the Atlantic must redefine the relationship to preserve security and prosperity, as well as maintain influence in an emerging international system where the 'West’– may no longer be dominant.

The EU has also cultivated and institutionalised relations with Canada and many countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Recent changes in the international context have made the EU a more attractive partner to LAC countries, which are facing economic slowdowns, rising criminality and problems related to the rule of law. However, the increasing contestation of democratic values (which used to bind LAC countries together) has put regional institutions under pressure and strained relations with the EU.

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  • 15July 2005

    The failure of the EU constitution in the referendums in France and the Netherlands has met with three types of responses in America: disappointment, satisfaction and ignorance. Most of the Americans who care about European affairs have not welcomed the failure.

  • 08July 2005

    Although the transatlantic relationship has been dogged by differences over the war in Iraq, the embargo on arms exports to China and divergences in policy towards the Middle East, significant efforts to facilitate a rapprochement have now emerged.

  • 01July 2005

    The future of the relations between Europe and America should be redefined, in accordance with substantial evolutions inside NATO and the EU. With every new team comes a new partnership. This, at least, seems to be the joint stakes on both sides of the Atlantic ever since the re-election of George W. Bush. With the 2003 crisis behind us, the time has come to put the pieces of transatlantic cooperation back together.

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    01July 2005

    On avait accusé les électeurs du « non » d’obscurantisme. Les dirigeants font pire, aggravant par le haut la crise que les électeurs d’en bas ont ouverte au sein de l’Union. Du côté des opinions, le message dominant est que rien ne va plus.

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    01July 2005

    Two years after George W. Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, the country is still far from stable. A fierce insurgency is still hampering the reconstruction of the country’s infrastructure and the development of the political process. On the other hand, success, however limited, cannot be denied: on 30 January 2005 Iraqis cast their ballots to elect a Transitional Assembly in most provinces of the country and a new government was inaugurated by the end of March 2005.

  • 22April 2005

    The EUISS co-sponsored a Conference on Democracy and Global Islam organised by the Center on Institutions and Governance based at UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies. The conference was the first of its kind to discuss the impact of globalising Islam on Europe's growing Muslim population with regard to US security.

  • 19February 2005

    On the eve of what will hopefully be a new start to trans-Atlantic relations, it may be worth recalling some of the European Union's achievements in helping to shape a better and more secure international order. Not just words and nice declarations, but facts and a real ability to deliver.

  • 06February 2005

    Para explicar la creciente diferencia entre Estados Unidos y Europa, Robert Kagan, en su libro Poder y debilidad, sugiere que los norteamericanos pueden equipararse a Marte, el dios de la guerra, mientras que los europeos recuerdan a Venus. Kagan no se detiene ahí, pues afirma también que en el mundo peligroso de hoy es mejor ser Marte que Venus, y aplicar la violencia sin vacilación contra dictadores y Estados canallas.

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    01December 2004

    Following the events of 11 September 2001, Poland emerged as one of the United States’s key allies, arguably its protégé, in Central and Eastern Europe. The close affinity of interests on security matters between the United States and Poland became particularly apparent in Iraq, where Warsaw proved to be a strong and highly vocal supporter of Washington.

  • 14November 2004

    The Institute organised a brainstorming session among Europeans experts on the US elections and their consequences for Europe. First examining the evolution of American society and policies, then analysing the European foreign policies vis-à-vis the United States.

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