Focus euroatlantico, n. 19 (novembre 2021-gennaio 2022)

The first issue of the 2022 Euro-Atlantic Focus begins, as usual, with an analysis of the state of play in the transatlantic relationship (supplemented by a number of graphs and tables in the appendix). In the last months, the US-European dialogue has been largely dominated by the question of how to respond to Russia’s threat of military action against Ukraine unless its demands for a radical reconfiguration of Europe’s security system are met. In the first essay, Alessandro Marrone takes stock of the state of progress of the Strategic Compass, the new EU security and defence document which is expected to be approved by the March European Council. Building upon the 2016 Global Strategy, the Compass is a stepping stone towards the EU’s strategic autonomy in security and defence. The second essay is dedicated to the so-called ‘open’ strategic autonomy, the EU’s strategy to achieve greater global autonomy by making use of trade tools. Fabrizio Botti warns that reconciling the EU’s aspirations for autonomy and its commercial interests is hard and not risk-free. In the third essay, Nicola Bilotta illustrates the plan to create a digital euro, which again is part of the greater EU strategic autonomy project. The European Central Bank sees the development of a digital currency as an opportunity to create a euro-based transnational payment system that would greatly strengthen the EU’s resilience, both financially and strategically.