Commentary
Judy Dempsey
{
"authors": [
"Judy Dempsey"
],
"type": "commentary",
"blog": "Strategic Europe",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe"
],
"collections": [
"Transatlantic Cooperation"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Europe",
"North America",
"United States",
"Western Europe"
],
"topics": [
"Foreign Policy",
"Security",
"EU"
]
}
Source: Getty
Commentary
Voices From the Munich Security Conference
Diplomats, professors, and parliamentarians at the Munich Security Conference weigh in on a very troubled transatlantic relationship.
By Judy Dempsey
Published on Feb 18, 2017
Carnegie Europe was on the ground at the 2017 Munich Security Conference, offering readers exclusive access to the debates as they unfolded and providing insights on today’s most urgent international issues. Check out our live coverage here.
*
Maneuvering my way through the throng of participants at the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of leaders, diplomats, and defense and security experts, I popped this question: What does U.S. President Donald Trump mean for Europe? Respondents were asked to sum up their thoughts in about 20 words.
Michel BarnierEuropean Commission chief negotiator with the UK and special adviser on security policy to the president of the European Commission
For the last sixty years, every American president has supported European unity because it was also in the interests of the United States.
Franziska BrantnerMember the German Bundestag
We have to go back to the fundamentals that we stand for.
Elmar BrokMember of the European Parliament
A united Europe also strengthens the United States. And the United States has always safeguarded our democracy and the rule of law.
Nicholas BurnsGoodman Family professor of the practice of diplomacy and international relations at the Harvard Kennedy School
For the first time since Trump, we don’t know if the American president supports the EU project or NATO.
Oleksandr ChalyiFormer first deputy foreign minister of Ukraine
Europe will be more independent and responsible for European security and Europe’s future.
Charles GrantDirector of the Centre for European Reform
Trump means that Europe has to take responsibility for the rules-based, liberal global order.
Nathalie JareskoChair of the board of trustees at the Aspen Institute Kyiv and former minister of finance of Ukraine
Uncertainty. Unpredictability.
Kersti KaljulaidPresident of Estonia
He is the president of the United States. We have just been speaking with U.S. Vice President [Mike] Pence along with the other Baltic states.
Roula KhalafDeputy editor of the Financial Times
Trump is going to discover very soon that Europe is his most reliable and stable ally.
Charles KupchanProfessor of international affairs at Georgetown University
Trouble. I’m hopeful that he will gravitate to more conventional positions on European security and the importance of NATO. But I worry that he will remain indifferent if not hostile toward the project of European integration.
Michael SchaeferChairman of the board of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt
Trump is a wake-up call for Europe to grow up.
Javier SolanaFormer secretary general of NATO and former EU high representative for common foreign and security policy
He is the first president of the United States who defends the opposite of those who represent multilateralism.
Photo by Munich Security Conference / Mueller
About the Author
Judy Dempsey
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe
Judy Dempsey is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe
- Europe Needs to Hear What America is Saying
- Babiš’s Victory in Czechia Is Not a Turning Point for European PopulistsCommentary
Judy Dempsey
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Strategic Europe
- Taking the Pulse: Is Canada Leading a Third Way?Commentary
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has twice inspired praise for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump: at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Is Carney showing a third way better than the EU has in dealing with the Trump administration?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Europe’s Self-Confidence ProblemCommentary
The EU’s responses to two recent incidents expose the gulf between European perceptions and capabilities. Unless the union can bridge that gap, it will never become a real geostrategic power.
Rym Momtaz
- Why MAGA’s Far-Right European Ties Will EndureCommentary
In supporting Europe’s far-right, MAGA and Russia both want the same thing: a weaker EU. Europe must defend itself without abandoning the openness these forces exploit.
Armida van Rij
- Letter from the Editor: Europe Takes Two Steps Forward But One Step BackCommentary
As we close out another season of Strategic Europe, it is worth taking stock of the deep shifts underway.
Rym Momtaz
- Taking the Pulse: Are the EU’s Watered-Down Russia Sanctions Better than None?Commentary
The EU had to compromise to adopt a twenty-first sanctions package against Russia, exposing growing cracks in the union’s resolve. Is this latest, weaker round worth it to keep pressure on Moscow?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
