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.
The Obama Administration has attached little importance to the transatlantic alliance, and Europe has barely figured in its foreign policy. The Administration’s highly touted “pivot to Asia” is simply a belated admission that it has less interest in Europe than any post–1945 U.S. Administration. While Europe is the home of…
Abstract: In May 2010, the U.K. general election resulted in a hung Parliament from which emerged a Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition with Conservative leader David Cameron as Prime Minister. The experiment was widely justified by the evident need to cope with the economic crisis and,…
Abstract: Promoting economic freedom at home and abroad is essential to revitalizing the U.S. economy. In 2010, for the first time ever, the United States fell from the ranks of the economically free in the Index of Economic Freedom, and economic freedom in the…
President Obama will host British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House on March 13–14. The official visit will be dominated by the eurozone crisis, developments in Syria, Iran’s nuclear program, and Afghanistan. For the U.K., the Falkland Islands will also be an important agenda item. In addition, this…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
This weekend, the Eurozone members and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposed a €110 billion ($140 billion) rescue package for the struggling Greek economy. In exchange for imposing tough austerity measures—including a three-year public sector pay freeze, an increase in taxes, and a liberalization of labor laws—Eurozone countries will provide…
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,…
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…
Numerous governments across Europe have embarked on strict austerity programs. Europe is also sliding into a deep...…
Last weekend, the people of France took a sharp turn to the left, and the rest of Europe may be on the brink of...…
Nicolas Sarkozy’s defeat at the hands of French Socialist leader Francois Hollande has sent shock waves throughout...…
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The European euro/debt/growth/banking/identity crisis is entering its third year. With so many summits, toasts, tense...…
[caption id="attachment_92625" align="alignnone" width="590" caption="Ireland's Prime Minister Enda...…
[caption id="attachment_90646" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="Syrian mourners gather around the bodies of people...…
The European Union yesterday imposed an embargo on future oil imports from Iran in an unprecedented escalation of...…
According to the recent news, the United States will not be signing the European Union Code of Conduct for Outer Space...…
As Iran’s nuclear weapons program pushes forward, the European Union is dragging its feet on implementing sanctions that...…
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