 Welcome to the U.S. Naval War College, the Navy's home of thought. NWC Talks features our world-class experts examining national security matters. We hope you enjoy the conversation. From the very earliest days of the American Republic, our relationship with Europe has been our most vital international relationship. In fact, our survival as a young nation depended on our ability to navigate the great power competitions that existed in Europe and to make sure we could still prosper in the midst of those. As our country developed over time, we depended on the waves of migration that came from European continent, from France and Germany, from the Nordic countries of Poland and Italy and many others. And these Europeans brought their culture and their dynamism to the United States to our great melting pot. But as we moved along and we got to the dark period of World War One, the United States slowly realized that we were in fact a global power with global responsibility. And when General Pershing arrived in Europe in 1917 to lead American forces, he went to the tomb where General Lafayette, who had helped secure America's independence, was buried. And he was there with his aide Colonel Stanton. And Colonel Stanton said, Lafayette knew Voila, Lafayette, we are here. And from that moment forward, the United States and Europe have had the most vital relationship in the world for the security, stability, and prosperity of all of our countries. My name is Professor Brent Hart, and this is NWC Talks. And I'm delighted to speak with you today about the transatlantic relationship, specifically the US-European Union relationship that is so vital to our security and to the prosperity of the world. As we think about this relationship, there is often a bit of a caricature, a bit of a gap between the reality of the relationship and what many Americans, both in the policy world and in the public, think about it. We think about a European Union that is this bureaucratic behemoth that has a very complex process of arriving at policies. And that is a bit of a tower of Babel. And it's a caricature that exists in Britain as well. It's one of the reasons why Britain today is looking at the prospect of Brexit. It is true, the European Union is complex and its tentacles extend in many directions, affecting the daily lives of millions of people across Europe. It's also true that its decisions are complex and they do reflect compromises among the member states. But it's also true that this institution has been extraordinarily durable and effective. The US partnership has existed for almost seven decades. And I would put to you that it exists on the basis of common values, respect for democracy, for human rights, for the rule of law, for free and open markets. The European Union is also a natural partner for us to tackle global challenges. Our economies together make up over half of global GDP. Our militaries, most of EU members are in data. Our militaries make up the most successful military alliance in history. We share global responsibilities. We are each other's foremost strategic partners to promote peace, security, and stability around the world. Now, as we shape global conditions for growth and development, our countries work together on finance, monetary policy, and trade policy to ensure that the global economy is stable. We also try to lift up the rest of the world. Together we provide about 80% of development aid for countries around the world, of which the European Union provides the majority. So we are critical global partners, and together we are the driver, if you will, of global prosperity. Think about this, 30% of all global trade comes from this bilateral US-EU relationship, trading goods, 40% of trade and services. This is the largest trading relationship in the world. And together, this relationship creates 15 million jobs in the United States and in Europe. It's really a critical relationship. We also work in so many other areas in energy, on the environment, in space even, we cooperate together. And then below the radar, there's a whole series of areas where we work on consumer protection on data privacy, on aviation safety, and so many things that people don't see in the day-to-day business. There are many things we do see, but there are also many things we don't see. And that cooperation, that intense web of cooperation between the US and Europe goes on every day. So the EU has delivered, as Secretary Pompeo has said, prosperity to Europe. It is America's single largest trading partner, and we, the United States, benefit tremendously from this relationship. So again, it is very much in the United States' national interest to deepen our cooperation with the countries of the European Union. Despite that, there remains this kind of lingering skepticism about our relationship with the European Union. In fact, it's often been suggested that the EU is an economic foe of the United States that's trying to take advantage of us. It's a bit different from NATO. Most Americans understand NATO has got a specific purpose. It's there to keep us safe, and we accept that. But the EU is more complex. And I think sometimes it's hard for us to understand how we work with the EU. It was Henry Kissinger who once said when he was Secretary of State, what I want to call Europe, who do I pick up the phone and talk to? Because it just was confusing, the decision making process was confusing. And it wasn't always clear that the decision we got was what we wanted either. So the question then is why we have these misunderstandings? Why do we have these differences in perception? And I would suggest that there are differences in approach and differences in priorities, but not insurmountable. And for students and practitioners who are going to be working with Europe, whether in the civilian side or the military side, it's important to understand these differences and where they come from, so that we can ensure that this partnership continues to be vital to both the US and Europe. And I would suggest to you that the roots of this difference go all the way back 100 years to World War I when Europe was devastated by the most gruesome war in history. It's hard for us to imagine today just how devastating that war was. The United States lost over 50,000 souls in Vietnam and that tore our country apart. But Europe lost over a million in one battle, the Battle of the Somme or the Battle of Verdun. And over the course of the war, 37 million souls were lost. So this was again a wound that was so profound, that was so deep that it completely transformed the way Europe viewed itself. And it was this disintegration, which was continued then in World War II, when once again cities were devastated, millions of refugees came to other countries, empires collapsed, and in Europe was just flat on its back. And it's from this 30 year period of disintegration that this drive for unity, this drive for integration has come from. It's important for Americans to understand that. The desire on the part of Europe is to create mutual interests to ensure that Europe never goes to war again. Luckily for Europe, there was good leadership, good practical leadership. In particular, I'd like to talk about a Frenchman named Jean Monnet, who saw what had happened to Europe. He was advising the French government. And he decided that what Europe needed to do was to find some practical areas of cooperation to focus on those things that had driven it apart, fighting over the resources of the Ruhr Valley and use that as a means of coming together. So he proposed something called the European Coal and Steel Community, which would bring together France, Germany, the Benelux countries in Italy, in a framework where they would share their resources, pool their resources, and manage them together. We see in that as well the beginnings of Monnet's desire to achieve a broader political goal with European integration. He believed it was not enough to have traditional balance of power politics, to try to find an equilibrium in the interests of people. That what was really needed was to find a fusion of interests, where the people of Europe would find common interests. So he decided that building on the coal and steel community, Europe needed to find other areas of functional cooperation, areas where they could work together to achieve their goals. And so this is how Europe has been built, step by step. There was a treaty of Rome in the 1950s that created the European economic community. That would become the European community in the 1970s. There was a common market, eventually a single market. And then the European Union came around and now we have a common currency, the Euro. So again, all of these developments have been step by step. The European Union expanded into areas from agriculture and competitiveness to industrial policy, common foreign and security policy. And I think, again, this was not built all at once. It was built step by step and that had been the plan. And as it was built, the people of Europe saw that this was in fact beneficial to them and beneficial to their countries. So the EU is very much a reflection of this drive to unity that comes out of history. And it's also a mechanism to advance that unity. And it's rooted in this desire, this strong desire to overcome that gruesome history, avoid war. But it's also rooted in desire to be more competitive. And in today's world, it's essential for countries, particularly many of the smaller countries in Europe, to be part of a larger market, to be able to compete and invest in a larger community. And that's what the European Union has offered to them. So as we can see, the nations of Europe, both individually and within the European Union and NATO, are in fact our closest allies in addressing challenges in Europe and beyond. And as I have worked as a diplomat, I've seen this in action. When I was serving as head of our embassy in France, I worked very closely to ensure that all European countries were putting maximum pressure on North Korea. So if they had an economic relationship or any lingering tie, the EU put pressure on their members to put an end to that. When we're dealing with terrorism in Africa, which is another source of global terrorism, countries like France are in the lead and we're working in a supporting role with them to combat that terrorism. And when we work with China, when we're trying to deal with China's trade policies, the EU is really our best ally to try to enhance the pressure on China to make sure that they conform to a free and open trading system. So when we look around the world and we need to work with other countries, the EU is there for us. Again, after 30 years of war, Europe decisively changed course and they created this system, this union. And the results have been unprecedented progress for the people of Europe. It's overcome geographical divisions, it's overcome ideological divisions, and cultural and economic hurdles as well. And as we look around, you know, many Americans now are asking, you know, can this relationship survive? Some are questioning whether we can continue to take it for granted. But I would suggest to you that America's interests are best served in concert with a cohesive EU rather than a disaggregated group of smaller states. Because there is there is value in numbers. Europe brings 28 capable democratic, prosperous countries that we bring to the equation. This is the value of allies and partners. So wherever we face challenges, whether it's in North Korea, whether it's terrorism in the Middle East, whether it's Russian aggression in Ukraine, we need to work with our European partners. The formation of an integrated Europe was one of the greatest achievements of the post-war period. If you think about it, you can drive today from France to Germany and back, never see a border guard, never change money. And when you think how many wars were fought along that border and how different it is today, that's an extraordinary achievement and we should never lose sight of that. Europe has been transformed, it's a historic change. Their process of unity is far from perfect as we see every day. Our desire for a more perfect union is still searching for that perfection and that's the way it should be. But there's no doubt that Europe has enjoyed the most peaceful and prosperous time in its history and when we put their strength together with ours, there's nothing that we can't do to build a more secure, prosperous and democratic world. And again, thank you for listening. I am Professor Brent Hart and this has been NWC Talks.