The EU is facing a hostile environment in Washington
Last week our CEO, Karel Lannoo, was in Washington D.C. to attend the annual Council of Councils meeting. His key takeaway: the EU needs a clear narrative on what it stands for.
The Council of Councils (CoC) is an initiative of the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), connecting leading foreign policy institutes and think tanks around the world. CEPS is the only member from the Brussels EU Bubble.
What was striking during this year’s meeting was how largely absent the EU is in Washington D.C. and during the CoC’s own dedicated discussions. The EU as an actual subject only came up during a session on value chains, which focussed on trade, economic security and defense industry issues. Alas, in the other sessions, very little was said on Europe or the EU.
European representation was also pretty limited this time. Of course, the CoC is always very interesting from a substance and networking perspective, and the CFR should be warmly congratulated for their efforts as hosts and in steering the various discussions.
One very element was to learn more about the CFR’s just-launched multidisciplinary and pluriannual Future of American Strategy, which will take place over the coming years to develop a forward-looking strategic vision for US foreign policy.
On other subjects, it was surprising to see that many American speakers were very much aligned on the Trump administration’s stance on Iran and that there was little discussion on the European perspectives on the conflict (possibly also because this time there were far fewer European representatives in attendance).
AI was also a big theme, due to ongoing controversies in the US over the construction of very large and very expensive data centres (you can even see them clearly when landing at Dulles Airport).
And finally, the US-China rivalry also came up in many discussions – but there was no discussion or even mention of the EU as a potential third pole.
It was an excellent few days in Washington to meet and engage with many different stakeholders and hear many different perspectives.
But the overall takeaway was as clear as day: that the EU should be much more assertive in the US in pushing its interests and values (admittedly, not an original takeaway from this trip but one from many previous trips Stateside). During various private meetings outside the formal CoC sessions, it became obvious that there is far more animosity towards the EU – as a bloc and an idea – from the current administration than there has been in more than 20 years, if not longer.
The EU really must set out a strong narrative on what it stands for and what its values are. In Washington and worldwide.
Karel Lannoo, CEO
Personally, I believe that at this moment, it is quite pointless to concern oneself with internal US affairs. They are arbitrary and unpredictable—characterized by personal vanity, vindictiveness, arrogance, hubris, and stupidity. As for the EU master narrative, it is irrelevant to Trump’s America. The current rulers detest the EU for the very same reasons Putin does: the EU simply comes out ahead. It offers a higher quality of life, fewer gunshot wounds, and—unlike in the US—treatment for a broken arm does not lead to financial ruin; furthermore, the food supply isn't pumped full of chemicals, and there are fewer racists and religious zealots. The EU isn't perfect, but it is undoubtedly better than the USA.
I’ve worked in the US—thanks, but no thanks.