December 02, 2022

Transatlantic tension? Views from Paris, Berlin, and Brussels

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Washington for the first state visit of the Biden administration. This visit comes on the heels of many months of strong transatlantic cooperation in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. More recently, however, there have been signs of new strains on the transatlantic relationship, in particular with respect to trade issues. There have also been accusations that the United States is attempting to profit from the energy crisis by selling LNG at high prices to Europe. How might these ongoing tensions affect transatlantic cooperation going forward? Liana Fix, Mathieu Droin, and David Kleimann join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss how Paris, Berlin, and Brussels view the status of transatlantic relations.

▪ Liana Fix is a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a historian and political scientist, with expertise in German and European foreign and security policy, European security, transatlantic relations, Russia, and Eastern Europe.

▪ Mathieu Droin is a visiting fellow in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he focuses on transatlantic European security and defense. Prior to joining CSIS, Mathieu served as deputy head of the strategic affairs unit at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

▪ David Kleimann is a visiting fellow at Bruegel, where he focuses on the climate and trade policy nexus as well as legal and diplomatic challenges arising from transatlantic and international climate and trade cooperation. David is an expert on trade issues with 15 years of experience in law, policy, and institutions governing EU and international trade.

  • Reports

    Transatlantic Security

    The Russia Stability Tracker

    In February 2023—one year into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine—the Center for a New American Security convened a group of leading U.S. experts on Putin’s Rus...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor

    • September 29, 2026
  • Podcast

    Transatlantic Security

    Russian Hybrid Attacks and Europe's Response

    Europe is facing an escalation in high-profile Russian hybrid attacks. Earlier this month, Germany attributed an attempted drone attack at Leipzig Airport to Moscow, Denmark a...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

    • September 25, 2026
  • Podcast

    Transatlantic Security

    Sep 25, ’26 Washington Roundtable

    Jim Townsend, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins the Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast to discuss Pentagon officials engaging defense ...

    By Jim Townsend

    • September 25, 2026
  • Podcast

    Transatlantic Security

    A Rearmed Germany's Place in Europe

    Today we are taking a closer look at Germany as it returns to military power. As the United States pulls back from Europe and threats of Russian aggression are heightened, Ger...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

    • September 18, 2026

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia