Sharper: The Transatlantic Relationship

The last few weeks have seen dramatic developments in the transatlantic relationship between the United States and its European allies. President Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin was quickly followed by senior administration officials calling into doubt the U.S.’s decades-long role as the security guarantor of Europe. In a rush to close the transatlantic rift, French President Emmanuel Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy all descend on Washington this week. CNAS experts are sharpening the conversation on the future of the transatlantic relationship and European security. Continue reading this edition of Sharper to learn more.

Features

Watch It Again | Transatlantic Turbulence: The Future Role of the United States in European Security

The Trump administration’s attempts at direct negotiations with Russia and deprioritization of European defense have challenged core assumptions previously thought central to U.S. foreign policy. The era of the United States seeing Europe as its security responsibility seems over, leaving the security burden for the region back in Europe’s hands. Emma Ashford and Stephen Wertheim joined Brussels Sprouts to discuss where the transatlantic relationship goes from here.

Commentary | The Superpower Has Left the Building: Munich 2025

Vice President JD Vance used his speech at the Munich Security Conference to lay out a broader critique of European domestic and foreign policy. The vice president’s remarks drew fire from European capitals, as officials scrambled with what could be a new reality in transatlantic relations. Richard Fontaine was in the room and wrote on a Munich Security Conference defined by America’s shift.

Brussels Sprouts | Can Ukraine and Europe Win Alone? with Gustav Gressel and Franz-Stefan Gady

Nowhere is the relationship between the United States and Europe more fraught than over Ukraine. President Trump’s call with Vladimir Putin and push for a peace deal cast doubts over the U.S.’s ability to support Ukrainian battlefield ambitions. To attempt to secure continued U.S. support, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Washington on Friday to sign a mineral rights agreement that President Trump has publically called for. Franz-Stefan Gady and Gustav Gressel join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to ask if Europe and Ukraine can hold Russia at bay without the United States’s support.

Derisky Business | America First Investment Policy + Europe's Trump Strategy with Agathe Demarais

A rift in the massive trade relationship between the United States and Europe could have dramatic implications for the global economy. Agathe Demarais of the European Council on Foreign Relations joins Emily Kilcrease and Geoffrey Gertz on Derisky Business for a European perspective on the Trump administration’s recent actions and how Europe could respond.

In the News

Commentary and Analysis from Richard Fontaine, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, and Jim Townsend