Bridging the Atlantic Nathan Crist, Stefano Montali, Bertelsmann Foundation, Are We Europe

Last episode I spoke with guests about how younger generations will shape the transatlantic relationship in years to come, this time we take a look just down the road ahead. In the European Union, Spain took over the presidency of the Council of the EU through the end of this year, and in 2024, both sides of the Atlantic will be shaped by elections. First, European elections will bring changes to the European Parliament and European Commission, and then all eyes will be on the US presidential election. I speak with experts on what to expect in the near future for the transatlantic relationship.


First, Pol Morillas, Director of the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, explains the recent snap elections in Spain and the priorities of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union, which began in July. Then, Carisa Nietsche, Associate Fellow, Transatlantic Security Program, Center for a New American Security, catches me up on some of the main technology and security policy issues to watch. And lastly, Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, journalist and host of the podcast Common Ground Berlin, concludes this podcast miniseries by reflecting on how transatlantic relations have changed in the last couple of years.

How the transatlantic relationship looks in the future depends in large part on the younger generations who will inherit it. Millennials and Gen Z already exert their political influence through voting—and in some cases as legislators or even heads of government—but for the most part the transatlantic political agenda is set by older generations. In this episode, we dive into generational divides on both sides of the Atlantic and discuss why different generations have different political mindsets.

First, Stephen Szabo, professor at George Washington University and senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) explains generational dynamics and talks about how he differs from his students. Then Brandon Bohrn, project manager at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, and Gesine Weber, research analyst at the German Marshall Fund of the United States discuss the results of the Transatlantic Trends 2022 survey and report and share their personal thoughts on the transatlantic relationship.

Earlier this year, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) announced that keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius was no longer feasible. A summer of wildfires and droughts, from the west coast of the United States to southern Spain, kept the impact of climate change in the transatlantic headlines. Yet somehow, it seemed like there were always more salient political issues stealing attention away from climate action.

But the idea that climate change is a separate issue from war, economic uncertainty, and political turmoil is false, explain the guests on this episode. Listen to hear three climate change experts discuss how global warming not only makes our climate more volatile, but also contributes to the likelihood of future conflict, shapes our political discourse, and is being increasingly incorporated into financial risk assessments.

First, Olivia Lazard, Fellow at Carnegie Europe, lays out how competition for the resources needed to shift to greener energy can lead to conflict. Matto Mildenberger, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, compares how the different political systems in the United States and Europe have affected how climate change is treated in public discourse. And finally, Madison Condon, Associate Professor of Law at Boston University, explains how large asset managers are incorporating climate change into risk assessment for their investments.

Vladimir Putin has brought war back to Europe, presenting transatlantic security with the massive challenge of supporting Ukraine and shoring up their own defenses. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shifted the conversation from whether EU countries will spend more on defense, to how can they spend the newly pledged billions of euros the right way?

As the response to the war in Ukraine has shown, NATO and the EU work well together when the need arises, but questions remain about how to enhance EU security while strengthening NATO.

Disagreement over free speech online has been a thorn in the side of a common transatlantic approach to dealing with internet platform giants wielding huge influence over our online communication. Over time, the divide narrowed, but more importantly, policy approaches became more sophisticated. Guests explain how in the case of platform regulation, the United States and the European Union have converged despite different perspectives.

This episode reaches back into the past to one of the most important artifacts of transatlantic history. We discuss the foundations of the Euro-Atlantic alliance today, reflect on the link between Germany and the United States, and the importance of finding common ground over disagreement.