What would you like to say to the next US president? FP asked nine thinkers from around the world to write letters with their advice.
What would you like to say to the next US president? FP asked nine thinkers from around the world to write letters with their advice.
Dear Madam or Mr. President,
As you face the extraordinary challenges before you, I hope you will maintain the partnerships that have sustained the United States over the years. When I became the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, I learned two lessons very quickly: first, that no nation, however powerful, can solve any major issue alone. Climate change, pandemics, organized crime and cyber-attacks all require responses beyond borders. Opportunities for our citizens to travel, study, trade and do business require deals with other countries that last decades or longer. Working together with other like-minded nations is vital if we are to keep people safe, grow our economies and face new challenges.
Another lesson was the strength of trans-Atlantic ties. Every day, and all day long, the flow of information, discussion and debate was an important part of doing business across the Atlantic – between Brussels and Washington. Whether we were looking to further develop our economies, protect our citizens, coordinate our defense strategies or deal with foreign-policy crises, we were reminded daily of our partnership based on common values and ideas.
Coming from the United Kingdom, I cherished what Winston Churchill called the “special relationship”. Speaking in 1946 at the end of World War II, he knew the value of alliances and recognized the decisiveness with which the United States stood with Britain in its darkest hour. He also appreciated the historical and cultural ties between our two nations. For the UK, the special relationship is the bedrock on which our foreign, defense and security policies are built. In recent times, we have stood together in the face of Russian aggression in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and now in Ukraine. The UK is an ever-reliable ally, ready to work with the United States to find answers in a world where crises appear out of nowhere.
Politicians since Churchill have interpreted the special relationship in different ways, but every president and prime minister has continued to value and rely on it. One of the reasons a relationship is special is that it is unique. The UK has historic ties across the Atlantic and geographical ties across the English Channel. The UK has become a bridge between the United States and the EU. We enjoyed that role, to ensure that US priorities and ideas became part of the background of decisions on foreign, security and defense policies in Europe.
Not all presidents or prime ministers saw the EU as a positive force – or understood the remarkable achievement of 27 countries now cooperating every day on economic, security and political issues. Never easy, it has come under greater strain in recent times as the foundations of the EU have been challenged, but despite these pressures the Union has survived.
After I returned from Brussels, Britain decided to leave the EU, weakening its own economy and ability to act in the world. His government ministers promised the opposite: a “global Britain” with grand ambitions to strike deals around the world that would turn the UK into a new kind of powerhouse. Reality killed the dream. Our departure from the EU does not leave us without clear paths to broaden and add to our foreign-policy priorities. It also negates a key reason for the United States to value its relationship with us. Our value diminished, our attractiveness diminished. Instead, Washington strengthened its already strong ties with Berlin, Brussels and Paris, and worked with allies such as Poland under its new government to support Ukraine in its fight to maintain its sovereignty.
But there is still undoubtedly a role for the UK, which ranks third behind the United States and Germany in NATO defense spending and is regarded by its allies as a reliable partner. More than that, it has a strong diplomatic service and plays an important role in intelligence and security. The new government has been elected on the promise of restoring relations with the EU, not only in foreign policy and defense but on a range of issues, including environmental issues, which are important to both sides. And to meet those common challenges, the United States has an opportunity to offer something new.
I would define this as being the third leg of a three-legged stool that includes the United States, the EU, and the UK. All three have much in common. Many Americans speak with pride of their Irish, German, Polish, Italian or British heritage. And the same values and ideals have stood us together in the face of aggression and crisis.
While the bilateral relationships between each of the three are significant, the tripartite relationship provides strength and stability. A three-legged stool can carry considerable weight without wobble and is firmly planted on the ground. Each leg plays its role in holding up the stool and enabling it to bear the load placed on it. The power of the United States is undisputed, and the economic strength of the EU is impressive, but the UK can also add to its strength in terms of its intelligence, security and defense capabilities, its diplomatic reach and its role. UN Security Council.
As you take office, amid challenges both domestic and overseas, I hope that the relationship between the UK and the United States will continue to be one that both our countries can count on.
The United States can lead in terms of its competition with China and its leadership in artificial intelligence, among many other areas of knowledge and expertise. But the traditional role played by the West, and especially the United States, is changing. We can no longer count on the support of countries around the world for the vision we have or the rules-based order we have created, or expect them to join us in common cause against those who would change it for the worse.
Such challenges create strong alliances in every field. And old, reliable alliances are in the United States’ interests as much as those of the UK and the EU, even if they break down from time to time. Our duty is to constantly renew, strengthen them. We have no choice but to collaborate to solve problems – the question is who are our allies and who do we turn to. A three-legged stool is important for this process.
Things are not the same as when the UK was part of the EU, but it is still a strong and determined ally with strong links to Europe, particularly through NATO. This connection would be one that Churchill would recognize and I believe he would welcome. I hope you, my American friends, will also welcome it.
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