Focus euroatlantico, n. 11 (gennaio-marzo 2019)

The first issue of the 2019 Euro-Atlantic Focus begins, as usual, with an analysis of the state of play in the transatlantic relationship (supplemented by a number of graphs in the appendix). The Trump Administration’s relations with Europe continue to be fraught, however, with the two sides disagreeing on such issues as the Middle East, trade and Trump’s aggressive approach towards China, especially as far as China’s involvement in the development of 5G networks in Europe is concerned. The geopolitics of 5G is investigated in-depth in the Focus’ first essay. Lorenzo Mariani traces the process that has led China to be in a leading position in the development of this ground-breaking technology. The US and Europe remain two important poles in the development of 5G, yet they struggle to find an agreement as to how to catch up with China. The second essay focuses on the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications of the Russo-German Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. Nicolò Sartori argues that Italy, whose gas imports from Russia transit through Ukraine, is now risking to lose its position as the energy hub of Southern Europe and become dependent on supplies from Germany. The third essay concentrates on the US Syria policy and Europe’s reactions to that. Silvia Colombo contends that President Trump’s announced intention to withdraw all US troops from Syria’s northeast – now actually scaled down to a simple reduction of troops – will nonetheless benefit the Assad regime and its main allies, Russia and Iran.