A Conversation on New Challenges for Transatlantic Relations with the Ambassador of France to the US

Ambassador Philippe Etienne, Ambassador of France to the US
Alice Pannier, Assistant Professor of International Relations and European Studies

The school hosted a discussion with the Ambassador of France to the US, Philippe Etienne, in conversation with Johns Hopkins SAIS Professor Alice Pannier, as part of the David P. Calleo Seminar Series to discuss New Challenges for Transatlantic Relations.
 
The Ambassador began the discussion by sharing his insights on a pro-European discourse highlighting the importance of European integration for the relationship with the United States and how the EU’s renewed leadership reflects ambitions to make Europe a more assertive actor on the global stage.
 
In light of challenging negotiations regarding Brexit and the EU’s upcoming budget, the Ambassador recalled the EU’s clear orientation for the next decade, by reducing the EU’s democratic deficit, in the context further afield of the development of Artificial Intelligence, and leading the way on climate change, regulation, and bolstering its defence and research capacities. He also underscored that despite serious policy disagreements between the European government and the Trump Administration, such as the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, the EU is convinced that there remain plenty of opportunities to cooperate with the US in a variety of policy fields, in all of political, security and economic terms.
 
In the discussion that followed with Professor Panier and the audience, the Ambassador shared his views about the role of norms and values in transatlantic relations, the extent of conflation between French and EU interests in the field of strategic European autonomy, the role of climate equity to address carbon mitigation in France, and the future relationship between the EU and the Western Balkans following France’s veto for accession talks for Albania and North Macedonia.