Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The second Trump administration has signaled occasional hostility to Europeans and the European Union in ways unprecedented in American government practice since the beginnings of European integration in the 1950s. At the same time, the European Union has embarked on new initiatives that express unity and clarity of purpose, such as a $100 billion commitment of financial assistance to Ukraine, including for military purposes, and the conclusion of a landmark trade agreement with the South American customs union Mercosur.
Is America's intermittent adversarial stance weakening or strengthening the European Union? What have been the most impactful US policies from a European perspective since President Donald Trump's January 2025 inauguration? How have they affected the European Union's relationship with its immediate neighbors, such as the United Kingdom or Ukraine? Is the US ability to weaponize transatlantic interdependencies growing or declining?
HOST
Nicolas Véron
Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
GUEST
Enrico Letta
Dean, School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs, IE University
For more information, visit: piie.com/events/2026/are-trump-administration-policies-catalyzing-european-unity
Sign up to get notices of upcoming episodes of the “What Now, Europe?” podcast: clicks.piie.com/what-now-europe
Follow the Peterson Institute for International Economics on social media!
Twitter: twitter.com/piie
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/piie
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/piie.com
The second Trump administration has signaled occasional hostility to Europeans and the European Union in ways unprecedented in American government practice since the beginnings of European integration in the 1950s. At the same time, the European Union has embarked on new initiatives that express unity and clarity of purpose, such as a $100 billion commitment of financial assistance to Ukraine, including for military purposes, and the conclusion of a landmark trade agreement with the South American customs union Mercosur.
Is America's intermittent adversarial stance weakening or strengthening the European Union? What have been the most impactful US policies from a European perspective since President Donald Trump's January 2025 inauguration? How have they affected the European Union's relationship with its immediate neighbors, such as the United Kingdom or Ukraine? Is the US ability to weaponize transatlantic interdependencies growing or declining?
HOST
Nicolas Véron
Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
GUEST
Enrico Letta
Dean, School of Politics, Economics, and Global Affairs, IE University
For more information, visit: piie.com/events/2026/are-trump-administration-policies-catalyzing-european-unity
Sign up to get notices of upcoming episodes of the “What Now, Europe?” podcast: clicks.piie.com/what-now-europe
Follow the Peterson Institute for International Economics on social media!
Twitter: twitter.com/piie
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/piie
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/piie.com
