The reason for the increase in the split between the European Union and the United States has long and not unreasonably been called Donald Trump. However, the problems of the transatlantic crisis lie much deeper.
This was told by a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, David Winray, in a material for the American edition of The Hill.
The publication notes that in European-American relations there is now every reason to intensify the crisis in the decade that has begun. At the same time, it makes no difference who will occupy the White House.
The author draws attention to the fact that quarrels are not new for the USA and Europe. The peculiarity of the current situation is that the need for a transatlantic partnership raises doubts. During his presidency, Donald Trump has repeatedly generated uncertainty among US partners, and the European Union generally considers it as a potential enemy. Only the situation will not be solved with the departure of Trump, Winray emphasizes.
According to him, the fundamental causes of the split will remain. The expert believes that there are five. The first is the cost of militarization. Washington requires the “partners” to raise them, provoking discontent among European countries. The second reason is China, with which the United States came into confrontation, but which could become a promising partner for the EU. The third reason is that very soon the European direction will lose its former importance for the United States. The Pacific region, where the Cold War with the PRC will unfold, will become strategically important for the States.
Winray calls the fourth reason the fact that in the current conditions of global competition, the United States is increasingly difficult to build a world gendarme. As a result, the EU will have to exclude a unilateral approach and begin to build relations with other influential countries, primarily with Russia.
The final fifth reason the expert called the Europeans’ habit of disobedience to Washington. So, in recent years, EU countries have increasingly disagreed with US policy.
“This genie will not be easy to put back in the bottle”, – Winray notes.
To resolve transatlantic relations, the author advises Brussels and Washington to form a common position on the Iranian, Syrian, Russian and Chinese directions, as well as “renew their vows”, confirming NATO’s commitment. However, Winray complains, all this is unlikely, because “in the new decade, the shores of the Atlantic will be further apart, regardless of the outcome of the November elections”.