Ashish Kumar Sen

It is critical for allies to work together in the face of global challenges to democratic values and principles, Mark Sedwill, national security adviser to British Prime Minister Theresa May, said at the Atlantic Council in Washington on March 8, while emphasizing the singular importance of the United States in such an endeavor.

Donald J. Trump and Theresa May attempted to paper over their differences—at least in public—at a joint press conference on July 13. This interaction followed a controversial interview Trump gave to the British tabloid The Sun in which  the US president criticized the British prime minister’s approach to Brexit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government was engulfed in turmoil on July 9 as she lost two senior Cabinet members over her plans for a soft Brexit. Within a span of twenty-four hours, David Davis resigned as Brexit secretary and Boris Johnson as foreign secretary. If forty-eight members of Parliament write letters of no confidence, May will be forced to face a vote of no confidence.

Where Does the P5+1 Stand on the Iran Nuclear Deal?   US President Donald J. Trump is expected to reveal his decision on May 8 as to whether he will extend key sanctions waivers on Iran. A failure to do so would effectively take the United States out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the Iran nuclear deal—which it signed with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Iran in 2015.   

The United States, Britain, and France Launch Strikes on Syria The United States and its European allies have launched strikes against Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack blamed on Bashar al-Assad’s regime. US President Donald J. Trump announced the strikes on April 13.

Britain Expels Russian Diplomats Over Attempted Assassination. Is that Enough? British Prime Minister Theresa May on March 14 expelled twenty-three Russian diplomats and suspended high-level contacts with Moscow after blaming Russia for poisoning a former Russian spy and his daughter in the United Kingdom. The expulsion, which May described as the largest in more than thirty years, will add further strain to an already tense relationship between London and Moscow. But is that an adequate response to ongoing Russian belligerence?

Theresa May’s Failed Election Gamble   British Prime Minister Theresa May made a gamble when she decided to call early elections with the hope of shoring up political support ahead of difficult Brexit negotiations. That gamble did not pay off.

Manchester Bombing Puts Libya’s ISIS Problem Back in the Spotlight   A horrific suicide bombing in Manchester has put a spotlight on Libya—the North African nation where the chaos that has prevailed for the better part of the past six years has become a fertile breeding ground for a mélange of terrorist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

A ‘Strange Allegation’ About UK Spying  US President Donald J. Trump’s support for an unsubstantiated claim that his predecessor, Barack Obama, asked Britain’s spy agency to eavesdrop on him is a “strange allegation” that “calls into question very important elements of our intelligence relationship,” said Sir Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador to the United States and a distinguished ambassadorial fellow at the Atlantic Council.

British Official Calls for Greater NATO-EU Cybersecurity Cooperation In the aftermath of Russian cyberattacks during the US presidential election last year and amid concerns about a repeat of such a strategy in Europe as Germany, France, and the Netherlands go to the polls this year, British officials are calling for greater cooperation on cybersecurity between NATO and the European Union.

Trump to Meet British Prime Minister May. Here’s What You Should Know.  US President Donald Trump will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May—his first meeting with a head of state or government since his inauguration on January 20—at the White House on January 27. Sir Peter Westmacott, distinguished ambassadorial fellow at the Atlantic Council who served as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States from 2012-2016, discussed what to expect from the meeting, the future of the US-UK “special relationship,” and the challenges in the transatlantic relationship and those posed by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

Negotiating a Brexit  The European Union wishes to negotiate the “best exit possible” for the United Kingdom from the bloc, said David O’Sullivan, the EU’s ambassador to the United States.

Turning Brexit into Reality Incoming British Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to move ahead with taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union, and this is the most likely future course, said the Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell. However, a Brexit is not inevitable.

Brexit May Strengthen NATO The British vote to leave the European Union will have minimal impact on the United Kingdom’s role in NATO; it could, in fact, enhance the Alliance’s importance as a forum at which to address global challenges, NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said in Warsaw on July 7. “The British are going out of their way to stress that Britain’s status within NATO is unaffected by Brexit,” said Vershbow, “that is a fact.”

With Brexit Looming, United States Advised to Forge Ties with Germany, the UK   In light of the British decision to leave the European Union, US President Barack Obama and his successor must forge a closer bond with Germany and shore up the “special relationship” with the United Kingdom, said R. Nicholas Burns, an Atlantic Council board director who served as under secretary of state for political affairs in the George W. Bush administration.

EU Needs a ‘Huge Transformation’   We asked our experts to tell us what the European Union needs to do differently in light of the referendum. This is what they had to say: Andrea Montanino is the director of the Global Business and Economics Program at the Atlantic Council. He was formerly executive director of the International Monetary Fund representing the governments of Italy, Albania, Greece, Malta, Portugal, and San Marino. It is clear that the European Union needs a huge transformation, and it especially needs a group of leaders that gives it a new direction. I would like to see on the day after the referendum the leaders of EU member states meeting in Brussels and taking a number of decisions that will deepen the union. 

Post-Brexit, Germany ‘Has to be Very Careful’ The EU has to recognize that it has many issues that it needs to face. There is much dissatisfaction in many countries with policies coming out of Brussels and with the level of transparency with which Brussels operates.

Brexit: An ‘Earthquake’ in London A vote by the British to leave the European Union should not be viewed as an isolated incident. It should, instead, set off alarm bells about the future of the European project.

Brexit or Bremain, What the EU Desperately Needs is Reform   British voters will take part in a referendum on June 23 to decide whether the United Kingdom should remain in the European Union. Latest polls show a close race. For months, proponents and opponents of the so-called Brexit have made their case to the British public.

Europe Facing a ‘Stress Test’ Europe is facing a “stress test” in the form of challenges from a “belligerent” Russia, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a historic influx of migrants, high rates of unemployment, and low levels of trust in European institutions, the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to the United States, Kim Darroch, said at the Atlantic Council on May 25. Given this reality, he added, it is important for the UK to remain in the European Union.