In Our Hands: Progressive Ideas for a Renewed and Repurposed Trans-Atlantic Bond

Policy Study

The report “In Our Hands: Progressive Ideas for a Renewed and Repurposed Trans-Atlantic Bond” by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and the Center for American Progress (CAP) urges Europe and the United States to renew the foundation of their historic trans-Atlantic bond, repairing the damage caused after four years of outright hostility and neglect.

As Vassilis Ntousas and James Lamond, the report’s authors, underline: “To effectively relaunch and renew the trans-Atlantic bond, both the United States and Europe must make a comprehensive commitment to progressive values. The success of this effort will depend on both sides of the Atlantic using this unique opportunity to reimagine their relationship, and not simply renew existing commitments.”

The report, which is the outcome of the inaugural FEPS-CAP transatlantic dialogue that took place over the course of the past two years, highlights four key areas that demand urgent attention and recommends that both partners:

• Foster an inclusive growth agenda that takes aim at inequality by finally addressing both its symptoms and its root causes.

• Deepen the shared commitment to free, open, and just societies by strengthening the democratic core of American and European communities and tackling the underlying problems that make both systems susceptible to illiberal strains.
• Thwart digital authoritarianism by increasing the accountability and transparency of digital practices and actors while strengthening the safeguards against efforts to weaponize (dis)information.
• Adopt a new joint strategic global vision. This presupposes the emergence of a new rapprochement in foreign, security, and defense terms, as well and a common outlook that tackles in a balanced way the challenges ahead.

Read the report: “In Our Hands: Progressive Ideas for a Renewed and Repurposed Trans-Atlantic Bond,” by Vassilis Ntousas and James Lamond.

Read the report