Transatlantic Ties in a Populist Era

• Published in: The American interest 2017-07, Vol.12 (6)
• Main Authors: Doran, Michael, Rough, Peter
• Format: Magazinearticle
• Language: English
• Subjects: Diplomacy; EU membership; Immigration; Politics; Populism; Presidents
• ISSN: 1556-5777; 2163-5099

The focus of the moment was on building a common market limited to six countries, but their true aspirations were political, not economic, and their scope encompassed the entire continent. In a recent speech in London, Guy Verhofstadt, the EU Parliament's Brexit negotiator and the former Prime Minister of Belgium, grouped the main threats facing Europe into three "fronts." To seize it, however, Americans and Europeans must develop a common understanding of the kind of political communities they wish to build, the challenges those communities face, and the proper methods for addressing them together. [...]he expressed a strong desire to work closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who uses a deft mix of traditional diplomacy, military intimidation, and cyber hacking to exacerbate intra-European tensions. Angela Merkel's visit to the White House on March 17 seemed to break the ice between the two leaders, but only time will tell for sure. If Trump's treatment of Graham poisoned their relationship for less than a year, then tempted to embrace such a pragmatic stance. [...]of what happens in the Brexit negotiations, the problems of the EU are not going away. A surprise victory of Marine Le Pen in France's presidential election, for example, or the collapse of the Italian financial system, could confront EU leaders with a stark choice of reform or dissolution. The harshest European critics of Donald Trump are the officials in Brussels who are most insulated from the political realities on the ground in their own lands, and whose globalism...