On Tuesday, 6 April 2021, the European Institute of Romania (EIR) organised a new online event in the Dialogues@IER series, focusing on the current relations between the European Union and the United States of America, in an international context that is getting more and more complicated and uncertain.
Our guests were Mrs Simona Soare, Senior Analyst, European Union Institute for Security Studies – EUISS (Paris/France), and Mr Radu Magdin, CEO, Smartlink Communications (Romania). The event was moderated by Bogdan Mureșan, Expert, European Studies Unit (EIR). The dialogue aimed to explore the transatlantic relations between recovery and reconfiguration.
The speakers’ interventions and the comments/questions addressed by participants highlighted the following ideas:
- Transatlantic relations were called into question during the Trump administration, but they are now regaining momentum, at least in terms of statements; however, symbolic gestures will require concrete actions in order to get results and bear out the partnership relaunch and the European optimism regarding the Biden administration;
- Competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive when it comes to the transatlantic relations, as they are organic consequences of this extremely dynamic bond;
- The novel coronavirus pandemic has exposed the international system’s fragility, also underlining the need for a multilateralism supported by both transatlantic partners; at a more general level, this pandemic has catalysed a whole range of geopolitical rivalries and global tendencies;
- Transatlantic relations are not only dependent on the relationships between the United States of America and the European Union, but also on those with third parties such as China, Russia and Turkey, the latter also being a troublesome dialogue partner within NATO;
- For Romania, a EU and NATO Member State which has a strategic partnership with the USA, it is vital to have options, to make its voice heard and to strengthen its position within the transatlantic community, in all the files of interest.