Following political upheavals in 2016 on both sides of the Atlantic, including the vote in favour of Brexit and the victory of Donald Trump in the United States (US), subsequent electoral results in the Netherlands and France in 2017 showed that pro-European forces have not been extinguished and can win popular support. However, the multiple crises that have hit the European Union (EU) in the last few years have strained its political cohesion and Eurosceptic anti-system movements remain potent across Europe. Sustaining and accelerating economic growth is essential to create jobs, renew confidence in Europe and generate the political will to address other shared challenges, including on the international front.

Given the depth and scope of the transatlantic economic partnership, Europe’s growth is also of fundamental importance to the US. Despite considerable uncertainty about the future of transatlantic relations and significant differences between the Trump administration and the EU, prosperity in Europe and in the US can hardly be seen as a zero-sum game. In a recent report by the Atlantic Council, a group of European and American experts suggested short and long-term measures to speed up growth in Europe. Drawing on the findings of this report, this Policy Dialogue, organised in cooperation with the Atlantic Council, addressed the prospects for growth in Europe and the US, as well the implications for their respective priorities and the future of the transatlantic partnership at a time of great uncertainty.

Speakers included: Yann-Sven Rittelmeyer, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC), Andrea Montanino, C. Boyden Gray Fellow on Global Finance and Growth and Director of the Global Business and Economics Program at the Atlantic Council, André Sapir, Professor, Université Libre de Bruxelles; Senior Fellow, Bruegel, Janis A. Emmanouilidis, Director of Studies at the EPC.