Unquiet on the Western Front: Why the 74-Year Alliance Between Europe and America Is Falling Apart

When German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas suggested during a June 15 video conference between 28 European Union diplomats and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the U.S. and Europe push Israel and the Palestinians to revive peace talks, Pompeo was diplomatic, refusing to accept or reject the proposal.

The same was true of nearly every other item on the 90-minute call’s agenda, according to U.S. and European officials familiar with the session, who said the disappointing meeting was symptomatic of the steady erosion of the 74-year-old transatlantic alliance since President Donald Trump came to office. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. and its European allies have been united in their commitment to cooperation and democracy, despite repeated dustups. Now, in less than four years of Trump’s America First foreign policy, the allies have become divided on issues that require an urgent and unified response, ranging from China and coronavirus to the Middle East, arms control, and trade. “The EU-U.S. relationship doesn’t exist anymore,” says Heather Conley of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

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