As the relationship with the U.S. government is fundamentally shifting, Germany faces a critical choice between deepening transatlantic defense procurement or seizing the moment to build out Europe's defense-tech ecosystem.
Our new study maps how U.S.–German exchange programs have evolved from 2020–2025, revealing disrupted funding, shifting political pressures, innovative new models, and urgent recommendations to strengthen democratic ties across the Atlantic.
Europe must urgently rethink defense, handling five key tasks in case the US significantly reduces its European military footprint. European leaders can make the choices necessary to fill the gaps by following this blueprint.
Europe’s defence map is being redrawn. Our new Böll EU Brief tracks over 160 defence partnerships signed since 2014 among EU countries, the UK and Ukraine – most of them after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Bilateralism boosts trust, interoperability and procurement speed, but also risks duplication and fragmentation. To turn this patchwork into strategy, the EU and NATO should map and integrate these deals into joint planning, strengthen the European Defence Agency’s role, and use bilaterals to offset declining US support.
The 2024 re-election of Donald Trump as US president, and the realignment of US security strategy that is expected to follow fundamentally changes Europe’s security outlook. The EU cannot become Europe’s security provider, but it can, through its defence industrial policy, support the funding and organization of the rearmament effort.
Will the EU-US Trade and Technology Council shape a resilient future or succumb to geopolitical rifts? This in-depth exploration of scenarios, challenges, and opportunities for transatlantic collaboration on trade, tech, and climate action outlines possible futures.
The 2024 U.S. elections will be closely watched around the world, especially in Europe. The United States is the European Union’s most important partner, guaranteeing Europe’s security through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A potential shift toward a less internationalist and more isolationist U.S. foreign policy would have profound implications for the continent.
The analysis after the vote takes four structural dimensions into consideration, which are worthy of increased attention: (1) generations and their different voting patterns, (2) regional differences, (3) women and their political representation, and (4) changes in the Bundestag.
While the United States and Europe may never have warm relations with Turkey, a clear and functional relationship, built around a mutually shared understanding of the other sides’ red lines could make cooperation on issues easier to pursue.
Turkey presents a powerful case where idealism and pragmatism meet. Pushing for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law not only serves Western ideals but also Western interests.
This publication analyzes the policies of the United States, and the European Union, and Turkey in the region and their impact on the relationship between Ankara, Washington, and Brussels.
This E-Paper analyses the results of the European Election in Germany and the specific impacts on national politics and the competition between the parties in Germany.
Over five million Iranians are in exile – about 120,000 of which live in Germany. They are influencing political and cultural debates in Iran on a daily basis. The aim of this publication is to promote a process of reflection within the diaspora and provide an input concerning the role and potential of the diaspora community in the US and Germany as well.
Armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — more commonly referred to as drones — have become a central pillar of the United States’ counterterrorism strategy. A number of European actors have expressed growing concern regarding the lack of transparency, accountability, and clarity surrounding the U.S. drone program. Read the joint conference report by hbs and the Stimson Center on this pressing issue here.
In this report, we assess the potential of three relatively promising international processes – the focus on fossil fuel subsidy (FFS) reform in the G20 group, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – to act as possible routes to reform in a transatlantic context.
Most important now is that the international community responds speedily and clearly to what amounts to a Russian occupation of the Crimea and the additional threat of Russian troops being stationed in Ukraine. Europe is in no way powerless in the face of Russian actions, as Ralf Fücks and Walter Kaufmann illustrate in a ten-point plan.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could include rules on investment protection, including so called investor- state dispute settlement (ISDS).
TTIP will affect a broad range of issues, from energy to the environment, and intellectual property rights to labor rights. The agreement could also have a significant impact on the evolution of agricultural markets and food systems in the U.S. and EU.
