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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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    09April 2010

    The New START, a bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaty, aims to significantly reduce the weapons stockpiles of both the US and Russia. While it may be seen as a positive step towards disarmament and for US-Russia relations, getting it past the US Senate is Obama’s next big challenge, writes Jean Pascal Zanders.

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    07April 2010

    Articles in this current issue: "After Lisbon: the States of the Union", "The EU and natural gas: the new security agenda", and "Obama's first year: a transformational presidency?"

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    22January 2010

    The devastating earthquake in Haiti tore apart the already impoverished nation, setting back recent development efforts by several years. But simply pouring money and personnel into the country will not secure its future. What Haiti desperately needs is its diaspora and a legitimate local leadership, writes Damien Helly.

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    04November 2009

    'The Obama Moment' provides an authoritative analysis of the most topical global questions of our time: multilateralism, the economy, disarmament and climate change. Will the election of Obama facilitate enhanced transatlantic co-operation in dealing with these and other challenges?

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    08October 2009

    Articels in this ISSue: Álvaro de Vasconcelos looks back to 1989 and draws conclusions for Europe today, Ahmet Davutoglu outlines his vision of future EU - NATO cooperation and the role of non-EU allies in contributing to the European Security and Defence Policy and Jean Pascal Zanders looks at Obama and the the first steps toward disarmament.

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    26June 2009

    Obama chose to travel the road less travelled by recent US policies towards the Muslim world when he decided to deliver a speech in Cairo on 4 June. He set himself an enormous challenge: to transform Muslim public opinion so as to alter the impression that a US President is someone to throw shoes at rather than a potential partner for dialogue.

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    20January 2009

    This collaborative effort of the EUISS research team highlights what it considers to be the major political event of 2009: the election of President Barack Obama and the impact that the change in the American administration will have on the world. It covers the priority areas for US-EU cooperation of global governance, climate change, disarmament and non-proliferation, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and transatlantic relations.

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    07November 2008

    Barack Obama won the election of 4 November because he communicated effectively to the Americans that he is the candidate of change. Indeed in all major respects Obama could not be more different from the outgoing and unpopular President Bush. Unlike Bush, Obama is a man of humble origins, brought up outside mainstream America: in Indonesia and Hawaii.

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    29September 2008

    EUISS’s transatlantic researcher looks back at US foreign policy over the last 8 years. He argues that whether Obama or McCain wins the upcoming presidential election, there will be considerable continuity in America’s foreign policy. The paper focuses on US relations with Iraq, Iran and China, as well as touching on Europe and Russia.

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    30July 2008
    By

    Following Ireland’s ‘No’ to the Lisbon Treaty, echoing the French and Dutch voters’ rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in 2005, the EU needs to consider carefully how to win back citizens’ support and thus overcome the fears that are crippling its ability to shape world politics.

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