The EU has long been a key supporter of multilateralism and a system of global governance that is rules-based, effective, legitimate and democratic. With the inauguration of President Trump, this specific EU approach to international relations is now in question. The initial four Trump years put the fragility of multilateralism on display, with the United States disengaging from many international institutions. This resulted in the EU often being isolated in standing up for global governance. With China and Russia taking ever more assertive positions, the next term of President Trump will likely be even tougher for the EU and global governance. Should the EU equally adopt a geopolitical approach, or should it step up in favour of the rules-based global order?
In this interactive roundtable at CEPS in Brussels, ENSURED colleagues and EU officials discussed what EU support for global governance will look likeunder the second-term Trump presidency. To understand the issues, they delved into important questions: To what extent are the EU and its Member States prepared to defend global governance? What can we learn from the initial four years of President Trump in how to engage in the variety of international institutions? What major global governance challenges will come up in key issue areas such as trade, climate, health, migration and digital? Where can the EU still pursue its interest in international cooperation and where will it need to compromise? To what extent is there still scope for universal multilateral cooperation, for instance in the UN? Should we instead focus on informal institutions, such as the G7 and G20?
Watch the full recording:
The speakers included:
- Olivier Bailly, Deputy Managing Director and Director for Global Issues, EEAS
- Hylke Dijkstra, Professor of International Security and Cooperation, Maastricht University
- Clara Weinhardt, Assistant Professor in International Relations, Maastricht University
- Katja Biedenkopf, Professor of Sustainability Politics, KU Leuven
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Curious to know more about the project? Make sure to read more about ENSURED’s approach and our different work packages.
(Photos: Sonya Sugrobova / GPPi)
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