August 19, 2020
America Should Capitalize on Europe’s Unlikely Comeback from the Coronavirus
A few months ago, Americans were praying for Europe. As the coronavirus ravaged the continent, they watched the lockdowns in Italy, worried about infection rates in Spain, and sympathized with Brits when Prime Minister Boris Johnson became ill. European countries took health security into their own hands, leaving a coherent, continent-wide approach in the dust. Following several years of fractious discord, the Europe of 2020 appeared more distracted and divided than ever.
But then, as the United States descended into the abyss of the coronavirus pandemic, a strange thing happened across the Atlantic: Europe staged an unlikely, tentative comeback. This comeback was not only based on the health of its citizens but on a newfound political and economic unity, which could prove to be beneficial for America. If the momentum of this comeback is sustained, then it points to new opportunities in transatlantic relations. The winner of November’s presidential election would be wise to seize those opportunities.
Read the full op-ed in The National Interest.
More from CNAS
-
Ukraine Negotiates for its Future
Podcast
There’s been a flurry of activity on the Ukraine front this week. Over the weekend, Donald Trump briefly met with Zelensky in Rome during ceremonies for Pope Francis’ funeral....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
A U.S. Strategy for Advancing EU Enlargement
Commentary
In 2014, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker famously declared a pause in the European Union’s enlargement. This pause is now over, after Russia’s 2022 invasion ...
By Nicholas Lokker
-
The U.S. Is No Longer the Leader of the West
Video
Trump’s second term has dismantled the idea of the U.S. as the leader of the West and instead it’s almost “every nation for itself”, says Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center f...
By Jim Townsend
-
Germany's New Defense Agenda
Podcast
On April 9th, Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, secured a coalition agreement with the Social Democrats following his party’s vi...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
