As the war in Ukraine has passed its second anniversary, two major elections are on the horizon. In June, the European parliamentary elections will be held across the European Union, while Americans will take to the ballot box in November to elect the next president. Both elections have the potential to affect Western support to Ukraine and thus the course of the war.

Europeans will struggle to have credibility with their neighbors unless they demonstrate a readiness to take the defense of their own strategic interests more seriously.

The EU needs to develop a real foreign policy and adopt a more political and differentiated approach to its southern neighborhood.

U.S. and European leaders want to see greater freedom, and democracy in the Middle East. Americans see this as the crucial battleground in the war on terror; Europeans want their southern neighbors to be stable and well-governed, to stem the flows of illegal migration and organized crime. Working with local partners for peaceful democratic regime change is the best way to achieve these goals.