AD 2021: The Biden Administration : Rebuilding Pathways with the Wider Atlantic

November 29, 2021

Since Joe Biden assumed the presidency of the United States in January 2021, the transatlantic relationship has experienced a surge of enthusiasm and political activity. Biden and his pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, are confirmed Atlanticists. They recognize that, despite Asia’s rise, the United States and Europe are still the load-bearing pillars of any open and stable international system. In fact, The United States has expressed a strong desire to "crisis-proof" the transatlantic space for the future, particularly in the areas of defense, health security and multilateralism. It has also taken a number of measures to develop some sort of transatlantic green deal, including climate action, trade and climate diplomacy. This session will address the significant and fast-moving issues of concern on the transatlantic policy agenda, and their potential to generate new global common goods during Joe Biden's presidency. How can the Biden administration renew the transatlantic partnership which will lead to formulating a common strategy towards China, reimagining NATO and expanding the US-EU partnership? Will Biden's agenda threaten European strategic autonomy? What are the prospects for an inclusive Atlantic policy or Alliance that takes into account the wider Atlantic community? In light of the divisions pitting EU Member States against each other, has the EU actually managed to be perceived as a serious geopolitical actor by other power centers (in Africa, Asia and the Middle East)? Looking at the wider Atlantic, are there signs of closer transatlantic parliamentary cooperation between the European Parliament, the US Congress, the Latin American Parliament and the African Union Parliament? Moderator:Mohammed Loulichki, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South Speakers: - Fernanda Magnotta, Senior Fellow, CEBRI - Ian Lesser, Vice President, Foreign Policy; Executive Director, German Marshall Fund (GMF) - Bruno Tertrais, Deputy Director, Fondation pour la recherche stratégique (FRS), France

Speakers
Mohammed Loulichki
Senior Fellow
Mohammed Loulichki is a Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South and an Affiliate Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. He brings over 40 years of comprehensive experience in diplomacy, conflict resolution, and human rights. He has served in various roles including as a member and Deputy Head of the Moroccan delegation to the 3rd Conference on the Law of the Sea (1982-1990), Head of the Department of Legal Affairs and Treaties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1988-1991), and General Director for Multilateral Affairs in the same ministry (2003-2006).   He also acted as Morocco's Ambassador to Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia (1995-1999), and was the Moroccan Government's Ambassador Coordinator with MINURSO (1999-2001). Furthermore, he served ...
Ian Lesser
Vice President; Executive Director, Transatlantic Center, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Brussels
Staff Expert Ian Lesser Vice President, Foreign Policy; Executive Director, Transatlantic Center Brussels Expertise: Policy, NATO / Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Affairs / North-South Relations / Terrorism / Proliferation / International Security & Geopolitics / Energy Related Topics: Security and Defense, European Union, Wider Atlantic, Mediterranean , Mediterranean Strategy Group, Turkey, Grexit, NATO, NATO and the Mediterranean, Understanding America Ian Lesser is vice president for Foreign Policy at The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and a member of GMF’s executive team, managing programs across the organization. He also serves as executive director of the Transatlantic Center, the Brussels office of GMF, and leads GMF’s work on the Mediterranean ...
Bruno Tertrais
Directeur Adjoint, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS)
...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    July 16, 2021
    The BDA Currents: Where Diplomacy Meets Business, is the Brussels Diplomatic Academy’s annual report covering the wider geopolitical and other factors influencing and affecting the world of diplomacy, international relations and global business. The journal focuses on issues of topical interest around the centers of global power, influence and importance, including the continents of Europe and Africa, the Middle East, China, India & Asia, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independe ...
  • Authors
    Jim Kolbe
    February 13, 2014
    Launched with great fanfare at the G20 summit last June, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has alternately been proclaimed the historic joining of the world’s two largest economies and ridiculed as a desperate lifeline being thrown to the same two economies. By most economic measurements, TTIP should be seen as a clear winner on both sides of the Atlantic. And greater economic cooperation could forge stronger political links leading to greater political, dipl ...