The United States has long supported the evolution of a Europe made up of prosperous and free countries that no longer go to war with each other. Yet recent decisions by the European Union, particularly the effort to carve out a defense identity separate from NATO, pose increasing challenges to transatlantic relations and U.S. interests around the world.
The removal of American tactical nuclear weapons from European and NATO bases would spell the end of the alliance and the concept of indivisible security. Read More.
In December 2009, Heritage Expert Sally MacNamara testified before congress about the implications of the Lisbon Treaty Read More.
Abstract: The policies of the United States and the European Union should encourage and support Russian civil society and Russia’s democratic modernizers. And, if Russia continues to abrogate its international commitments to basic freedoms and human rights, the… Read more
Apparently the bureaucrats in the European Union Commission’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) department were not content to see the EU’s burdensome regulatory requirements dragging EU economies into recession and financial crisis, so they came up with a new CSR strategy. Released on October 25, it fundamentally redefines the EU’s approach… Read more
Chairman Warner, Ranking Member Johanns, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is J.D. Foster. I am the Norman B. Ture Senior Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position… Read more
The EU–U.S. passenger name record (PNR) agreement—implemented in the wake of 9/11—is an information-sharing program requiring that key pieces of data on travelers to the U.S. be provided to American authorities prior to their arrival in the U.S. This information must be provided under U.S. law, and in May 2004,… Read more
After a wave of panic gripped French financial markets late last week, President Nicolas Sarkozy interrupted his summer vacation to call an emergency cabinet meeting and reassure the world that French banks were not on the “brink of disaster.”[1] Although it looks as if France’s… Read more
Europe’s socialist (or “social democratic”) welfare state is collapsing under the load of unsustainable debt. There is no chance European politicians will ever make good on the many costly and unfunded entitlements they have promised their citizens. The fundamental problem in the European Union is a monetary… Read more
On July 11–15, the United Nations held a third meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Arms Trade Treaty. The committee discusses the content of the treaty in advance of a meeting of the conference in 2012 to finalize the treaty and open it for ratification. This treaty is purportedly… Read more
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is on course to secure a third consecutive victory in parliamentary elections this weekend. Polls are predicting that the AKP could secure up to 48 percent of the vote. However, a two-thirds majority of the 550-seat assembly is… Read more
When President Obama visits Ireland on May 23–24, he is expected to visit Moneygall in County Offaly, the ancestral home of his mother’s family. While finding Irish ancestors is a favorite electoral sport of American leaders, the President would be better advised to spend his time studying the Irish financial… Read more
Abstract: The European Union is pouring enormous amounts of money into the United States. Regular multimillion-dollar payments to individuals and organizations in the U.S. raise important questions over Brussels’ interference in U.S. political and social debates—including climate change,… Read more
It has been revealed that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton is pushing for the lifting of the EU’s 1989-imposed arms embargo on China. EU leaders failed to reach agreement on the issue at their summit in Brussels in December, but Lady Ashton is reported… Read more
Abstract: The European Union has not been working with the United States as a partner, but against the U.S. as a global counterbalance. One of the main features of the EU’s counter-strategy is its advancement of a non-NATO defense identity, the Common Security and… Read more
Abstract: Once a colossus dominating the globe, Europe today is a doddering convalescent plagued by economic sclerosis, unaffordable entitlements, an impending demographic collapse, and a large unassimilated Muslim population. In addition, the EU’s reliance on soft power has left it unable to project global… Read more
Two weeks after the start of Muammar Qadhafi’s violent crackdown on his people, the European Union on Monday agreed to a set of sanctions to be applied against Libya. The sanctions include: A ban on 26 individuals, including Qadhafi… Read more
Abstract: After 9/11, the nations of Europe displayed extraordinary solidarity with the United States, and a decade later both sides of the Atlantic still know they need each other to fight the global threat of Islamist terror. But the EU–U.S. counterterrorism relationship has been marked as much by confrontation as… Read more
[caption id="attachment_90646" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="Syrian mourners gather around the bodies of people...… Read more
The European Union yesterday imposed an embargo on future oil imports from Iran in an unprecedented escalation of...… Read more
According to the recent news, the United States will not be signing the European Union Code of Conduct for Outer Space...… Read more
As Iran’s nuclear weapons program pushes forward, the European Union is dragging its feet on implementing sanctions that...… Read more
[caption id="attachment_88148" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="President Barak Obama leaves 10 Downing street...… Read more
Innovation and market disruption can be powerful forces for economic growth. But government involvement in the market...… Read more
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi announced his resignation Tuesday after Italy’s ruling coalition lost its...… Read more
The European press has a death grip on the idea that China will provide the huge sums of money necessary to make a dent...… Read more
“We’re cutting our own throats here, I think,” Kim Murray, from the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, recently remarked...… Read more
Now that President Obama has signed the Budget Control Act into law following weeks of grueling debate, lawmakers are...… Read more
Senior Research Fellow in Anglo-American Relations
Director, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Director, Center for International Trade and Economics and the Mark A. Kolokotrones Fellow in Economic Freedom