From economic crises and trade wars to the rise of populism and strained international cooperation, it seems that the United States and its European partners are growing apart on many levels. We follow the state of the transatlantic relationship and how politics and societies on both sides of the Atlantic are handling the global challenges of the 21st century. Through research, polling, and our transatlantic legislative exchange program, CEPI, we seek to foster stronger transatlantic ties through a deeper mutual understanding.
The Congressional European Parliamentary Initiative (CEPI) program facilitates the exchange of ideas and experiences among senior staff of the German Bundestag and European Parliament, elected U.S. legislators, and select private sector individuals. It provides participants with exposure to legislative processes, policy formulation, and political and institutional challenges in the United States and Europe.
2020 has been marked by an unprecedented series of political, economic, and societal shocks that have tested the resilience of the transatlantic relationship.From the Covid-19 pandemic and its global implications, to regional issues such as the risk of military escalation with Iran, to purely transatlantic matters like the withdrawal of American troops from Germany, the United States and Europe have experienced a multiplicity of crises that challenge the terms of the transatlantic partnership.
With more than half the world’s population residing in cities, responsibility for solving societal challenges – ranging from climate change to terrorism and the future of work – is increasingly falling to officials at the local level. However, deteriorating fiscal conditions, coupled with a long-term decline in public trust in government, has diminished local leaders’ ability to meet citizens’ increasingly complex demands.
