The transatlantic link is a complex and dynamic concept that covers all aspects of the relations between North America and Europe: military, security, political, economic, social etc. Practically, every component of what we call international relations finds itself in the transatlantic link. This is the reason why this concept can only be understood if analyzed thoroughly, while focusing on all aspects involving the security and defence of the Euro-Atlantic area (often called the transatlantic region), as well as on the contribution of the transatlantic community to international peace and security.

Starting from his experience as a defence intelligence officer, to his five year service in Brussels as the Romanian Military Representative to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) and ending with his recent years’ activity as an associate professor to several universities in Bucharest, the author intends to offer to readers of the Geostrategic Pulse a thorough approach of the current and future significance of the transatlantic link. The transatlantic link will be analysed from a defence and security perspective and taking into account the interests of North America, NATO, the EU and their Member States and partners, in a time when the Euro-Atlantic community must face the challenges of the new geostrategic context. The author proposes a series of four articles that contain the following: 1) the transatlantic link – challenges and opportunities; 2) the significance of the transatlantic link to the European defence, especially as far as NATO is concerned; 3) the importance of the transatlantic link to ensuring European security, especially from the European Union standpoint; 4) the contribution of the US bilateral relationships with some NATO member states from Eastern European (Poland and Romania in particular) to reinforcing the relevance of the transatlantic link.

There are various interpretations of the domains and geographical coverage of the transatlantic link – from approaches limited to the US military contribution to NATO and size of American troops deployed in Europe, to approaches taking into consideration all forms of cooperation between the USA on one hand and NATO, the EU, and other states from the Euro-Atlantic community on the other hand. As far as this article is concerned, the transatlantic link is strictly limited to the Euro-Atlantic community comprising NATO and/or EU Member States, as well as European partner states (to the two organizations) - Switzerland and the Western Balkans (Picture 1). When referring to the transatlantic link’s domains, the author will analyze the transatlantic defence and security and emphasize the importance of the political, defence and security evolutions on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Picture 1, the Euro-Atlantic Community[1]

The author believes that, despite the many challenges it has to face, including the occasional rhetoric of some politicians from the Euro-Atlantic community, the transatlantic link has become more important than ever and its future should not be jeopardised neither from within, nor from the outside. In line with this, the latest documents adopted by both NATO and the EU demonstrate the lasting relevance of the transatlantic link and the good understanding of its role by the political leadership of states and institutions in the transatlantic area:

- Brussels Declaration on Transatlantic Security and Solidarity[2], whose foreword states that “NATO guarantees the security of our territory and populations, our freedom, and the values we share – including democracy, individual liberties, human rights, and the rule of law. Our Alliance embodies the enduring and unbreakable transatlantic link between Europe and North America to stand together against threats and challenges from any direction. This includes the bedrock commitment to collective defence set forth by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. NATO will continue to strive for peace, security and stability in the whole of the Euro-Atlantic area, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.”;

- The NATO-EU Joint Declaration[3] signed by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following the NATO Summit in July 2016 clearly underlines the importance of the transatlantic link to the Euro-Atlantic security: ”All Allies and Member States, as well as the EU and NATO per se, are already making significant contributions to the Euro-Atlantic security. [...] In light of the common challenges we are now confronting, we have to step-up our efforts: we need new ways of working together and a new level of ambition; because our security is interconnected; because together we can mobilize a broad range of tools to respond to the challenges we face; and because we have to make the most efficient use of resources. A stronger NATO and a stronger EU are mutually reinforcing. Together they can better provide security in Europe and beyond.” This declaration has been reinforced two years later by the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation[4] that states:”Our respective efforts are mutually reinforcing, have improved the security of our citizens and strengthened our transatlantic bond. Our longstanding cooperation has developed substantially, and is now unprecedented in its quality, scope and vigour. We share the same values and resolve to address, hand-in-hand, the common challenges we face.”

The signing of the Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation, 10^th of July 2018, Brussels[5]

Consequently, one can talk about consensus between NATO, the EU and their Member States regarding the necessity to strengthen their transatlantic link in order to ensure that peace and stability are maintained in the transatlantic area, and that the Euro-Atlantic community is a major contributor to international peace and security. There is still an adequate amount of cooperation and understanding between NATO and the EU, and all the relevant factors support it while unanimously recognizing that both organizations maintain full decisional autonomy on security and defence. These aspects will be confirmed in the following. It is obvious that Europe needs North America as much as North America needs Europe and this isn’t possible without the improvement of the transatlantic link in areas such as defence, security, politics, and economy. Besides, bilateral relationships between the USA and Canada on one hand, and the EU and other European states on the other hand are crucial to the importance of the transatlantic link, especially as far as defence and security are concerned.

The transatlantic link isn’t a given of the transatlantic community; its preservation and consolidation demand efforts from all parties so it can face the permanent challenges it is subject to. The international security situation from the last two decades and the political events on both sides of the Atlantic represent both challenges and opportunities for the transatlantic link. These challenges and opportunities are many and diverse as far as their manifestations, and often interconnected. The challenges to the transatlantic link come from both inside and outside the transatlantic community, and all those responsible must detect and manage them accordingly in order to ensure peace and stability in the transatlantic region and, at least, in its close neighbourhoods, South and East of Europe. This is the topic presented in the first of the four articles that are dedicated to the transatlantic link as far as its importance to the peace and security of the Euro-Atlantic area is concerned.

The transatlantic link is in a fragile balance and must be managed accordingly through cooperation between NATO and the EU, as stated in the declarations revealed in the beginning of this article. NATO-EU cooperation is imperative especially if we consider that 22 European states are members to both NATO and EU. The recent measures generated by the adoption of the Global Strategy for the European Union's Foreign and Security Policy in June 2016 have put these states in a position to allocate financial resources for the EU’s defence efforts as well. Although the adoption of the Global Strategy will strengthen NATO’s European pillar and balance defence efforts between North America and Europe, one cannot ignore the risk posed to the transatlantic link and that it may lead to a duplication of NATO capabilities. Moreover, frictions between Allies could be generated by the fact that NATO states that are not EU members as well may feel discriminated, as they are not involved in the EU decision-making on European defence issues. Even more so, if Great Britain leaves the EU, almost 80% of NATO defence expenses will be covered by non-EU Member States. And this is a real risk since the EU cannot defend Europe without the USA. In short, there is a dire need of close cooperation between NATO and the EU, which will significantly contribute to European security and the consolidation of the transatlantic link.

From left to right: the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker, the US president, Donald Trump and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, Brussels, 25^th of May, 2017[6]

The transatlantic link is often seen from a defence and security perspective only. It is frequently analyzed in the larger context of US-European relations that very often face major difficulties such as: climate changes, the Iranian nuclear programme, the war in Iraq, commercial exchanges and many other issues related to foreign policy and trade. The transatlantic link has been subjected to a lot of pressure during its 70 years existence. However, it has never been so damaged by the pressure of the political and economic rifts between the transatlantic partners – especially between the USA and the EU. No matter the problem, the transatlantic partners have always found common solutions and have never questioned their shared values or NATO and EU’s credibility and strength.

The situation started to change considerably in 2018 because of Donald Trump’s defiant attitude towards USA’s conventional foreign policy in several domains: withdrawal from the Agreement on the Iranian Nuclear Program (signed on14^th of July 2015 by Iran with USA, Great Britain, France, Russian Federation, China, and Germany) and from the Paris Agreement (the global response to climate changes); US policy on the Middle East (including relocating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem);  tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU; the call for Russian Federation to re-join G7 etc. Due to the fact that some European leaders have failed in their efforts to build an open and impartial relationship with the US President, important European states such as France and Germany have started to realize that they need a new strategy towards the USA, with a view to prevent severe damage to the transatlantic link as well.

If at some point the transatlantic link was in real danger of losing importance, starting with the events in 2014 – the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and the start of the separatist conflict in Eastern Ukraine – it becomes meaningful once again, given the increase of both American military presence on NATO’s Eastern flank and large European states’ contribution to European security. Thus, the deterioration of the security situation generated by the immoral and illegal actions of the Russian Federation has led to the revival of the transatlantic link, notably by increasing US military personnel in Europe as part of USA’s contribution to assurance and deterrent measures against a possible act of Russian military aggression on the European NATO Member States. The USA increased the deployments of troops in Europe, as a contribution to the reassurance of European Allies and deterrence of any military aggression against them. The American contribution to the forward presence in Poland, the Baltic States, Romania, and Bulgaria included: increased deployments of troops and military equipment; prepositioning of resources for logistic support; intensified air policing and surveillance missions as well as joint training programs with troops from the states on the Eastern flank. The USA is the most important contributor to the implementation of the NATO Readiness Action Plan adopted in Wales in September 2014. Moreover, after 2014, the transatlantic link becomes even more relevant given Canada’s contribution to the implementation of the Action Plan by sending troops to Latvia and by participating in air policing and maritime security missions in the Baltic and Black Seas. On the other hand, the European Allies are assuming more security responsibilities in Europe and have joined the USA in the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

Starting with 2016, when Donald Trump was elected president of the USA, the transatlantic security link has been under a lot of pressure due to both internal and external challenges. On one hand president Trump sees US traditional alliances differently from his predecessors. On the other hand the EU Member States have launched initiatives to increase the European defence cooperation and strengthen Europe’s credibility as important player in the field of European and international security. Even if launched with great efforts by states such as Germany and France, these initiatives are far from being unanimously accepted by all EU Member States; these states believe strongly that NATO is the only organization capable to defend Europe and to promote the transatlantic security interests, European included. This is the reason we can state that Europe isn’t yet able to be a united and coherent security player.

Recent evolutions in the USA-EU relations prove that the transatlantic partnership is clearly under question and the transatlantic link is about to lose momentum. On one hand there are more European states complaining that the USA are diminishing their contribution to the collective defence (Article 5 of the Washington Treaty) and paying less attention to European security than before. On the other hand US officials are more and more vocal expressing their frustration about the fact that European Allies do not allocate enough resources to defence in order to reach a fair share of the burden as far as European security is concerned, despite the commitment of all NATO member states to increase their defence expenditures to at least 2% of GDP by 2024 (decision of the NATO Summit in Wales, September 2014)

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It is obvious that the most important factors that influence the future of the transatlantic link are the evolution of the EU defence and security policies, on one hand, and Trump Administration’s policy, meant to shape the current transatlantic relationship according to the current values and interests of the US in Europe, on the other hand. However, it isn’t hard to see that neither Europeans nor Americans have clear strategies or policies towards each other. On one hand, the EU cannot agree on a coherent policy towards the USA if it could jeopardise the transatlantic link. On the other hand, there are some differences of opinion between Trump Administration and the US Congress and even within the Administration that generate uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a fact that future tensions between transatlantic partners will keep on going and will be influenced by the nature of the US relationships with the Russian Federation and China, among other.

As far as the transatlantic link is concerned, history has often proven that Europe and the USA are stronger and more effective when working together to maintain transatlantic and international peace and security. Although the political interests of the major countries in the transatlantic region have sometimes put the relevance of the transatlantic link at significant risks, the states and institutions within the Euro-Atlantic community have always been able to find the necessary resources to solve their divergences and cooperate for the ensuring of their own security.

The current European security challenges are more dynamic, diverse, and difficult to predict than any time in history and can only be countered by reinforcing the relevance of the transatlantic link, by cooperating and coordinating the actions of NATO, EU, their Member States and partners. Despite many differences in opinion, both Washington and Brussels have so far shown maturity and realism, turning challenges into opportunities and increasing the relevance of the transatlantic link.