Focus euroatlantico, n. 7 (gennaio-marzo 2018)

Over one year into President Donald Trump’s term, time is ripe for a preliminary assessment of US-European relations under the most unconventional – and controversial – president of America’s recent history. Not only is President Trump scarcely invested in Europe, he has also championed policies potentially threatening key European interests. Contrary to expectations, one area in which transatlantic coordination still holds concerns relations with Russia. Precisely the West’s troubled relationship with Putin’s Russia is the subject of the first brief, authored by Riccardo Alcaro. The second brief, authored by Silvia Colombo, focuses on American and European policies towards the Middle East, with a special emphasis on Iraq and Syria. Colombo contends that, with the (admittedly significant) exception of the nuclear agreement with Iran, Europe struggles to elevate its role in the region beyond the humanitarian dimension. The Focus ends with an assessment of the state of European integration. Lorenzo Vai divides the challenges the European Union is confronted with into two categories. He first identifies five structural challenges and then explores five more contingent, yet equally significant, challenges, ranging from migration to terrorism and organised crime, income inequality, European defence, and the EU’s relationship with global players, most notably Trump’s America.