In June 2021, from a podium in the Cornish countryside, former US president Joe Biden told a relieved Europe that “America is back at the table”.
The comment – made after a summit of the Group of Seven rich nations – became a galvanising force for reinvigorated transatlanticism after the first term of Donald Trump had left it in tatters.
When Russia invaded Ukraine eight months later, the G7 became the forum of choice for cooking up punitive sanctions against Russia. It was also the venue for more intense Western cooperation on China policy, with the EU – grateful to be rid of Trump – toughening up its approach to Beijing, in line with Biden’s systematic containment
Two years prior, French President Emmanuel Macron had pronounced Nato “brain dead”, as Trump berated European allies for not spending enough on defence and pulled US troops from Syria without consultation. It too was given a new lease of life, with Biden’s return and Russia’s aggression once again elevating Nato to the top table of Western policymaking.
So smitten was Brussels with the returning US, so deep the collaboration with Biden’s White House, many believed the transatlantic alliance could weather another term of Trump after he won re-election in November 2024.
A year and a half on, those hopes have largely passed. Few doubt that a rupture has taken place, the only disagreement is how deep and how permanent.
