Transatlantic conditional synergy

Understanding the European Union’s "strategic autonomy’ as cutting itself off from the US and building self-sufficiency in all sectors would be not only costly but also extremely difficult in practice.

- Malgorzata Bonikowska

It would mean, among other things, a voluntary delay in access to key technologies that Europe currently lacks. Instead of cutting itself off from America, Brussels has chosen an approach that could be described as "strategic synergy," which, however, is conditional: where possible, the EU cooperates with Washington, and where turbulence threatens, it invests in its own resources.

The "conditional synergy" strategy gained significance with the return to the White House of Donald J. Trump and his slogan "America First!" The new administration has already raised EU tariffs on steel and aluminium to 50% and is announcing a review of further tariffs. This "conditional synergy" allows Europe to continue to benefit from the world's most important innovation ecosystem while simultaneously creating a buffer against Washington's protectionist tendencies.