About Us

The Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) fosters high-level U.S.-European dialogue on the changes in Europe and the global challenges that affect transatlantic relations. The Center offers independent research and recommendations for U.S. and European officials and policymakers, and it convenes seminars and public forums on policy-relevant issues. CUSE’s research program focuses on three key areas: the transformation of the European Union; strategies for engaging the countries and regions beyond the frontiers of the EU including the Balkans, Caucasus, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine; and European security issues such as the future of NATO, forging common strategies on energy security and transatlantic counter-terrorism coordination. The Center also houses Brookings' specific programs on France, Italy, and Turkey, as well as the Brookings Arms Control Initiative, which analyzes the critical challenges of arms control and nonproliferation.  For more information on the activities of CUSE, click here.

The substantive work of CUSE is carried out by an accomplished team of scholars on Europe, including Brookings President Strobe Talbott; Center Director Fiona Hill; Senior Fellows Clifford Gaddy, Robert Kagan, Steven Pifer and Justin Vaïsse; Nonresident Senior Fellows Pavel Baev, Carlo Bastasin, Helga Flores Trejo, Jonathan Laurence, Richard Kauzlarich, Cesare Merlini, Andrew Moravcsik, Mark Parris, Daniel Speckhard, Angela Stent and Ömer Taşpinar; Visiting Scholar Michael Calingaert; a number of Visiting Fellows from Europe, including an annual visiting fellow from Italy; and other Brookings scholars from various disciplines.

Director

Fiona Hill is senior fellow and director of the Center on the United States and Europe. Dr. Hill is an expert on Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union. She previously served as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, as director of strategic planning at the Eurasia Foundation and in a number of positions at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Director of Research

Justin Vaïsse is senior fellow and director of research for the Center on the United States and Europe. An accomplished French expert on American foreign policy, France and Europe,  Dr. Vaïsse has held several positions in government and academia.

Director of the Brookings Arms Control Initiative

Steven Pifer is senior fellow of the Center on the United States and Europe and director of the Brookings Arms Control Initiative. A former ambassador to Ukraine, his career as a Foreign Service officer centered on Europe, the former Soviet Union and arms control.

CUSE Staff

Andrew Moffatt, Associate Director
Tesia Schmidtke, Center Coordinator
Hannah Thoburn, Research Assistant

Funding

The Center sustains its activities through the generous support of private foundations, corporations, governments and individuals. These friends of the Center respect our scholars’ commitment to independent, nonpartisan research and publication, and to maintaining the highest level of integrity in pursuit of our mission.

Core sponsors of the Center and its varied research programs include the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF), the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Council for the United States and Italy, the Daimler Corporation, the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, the Embassy of France, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, the Ploughshares Fund, Sabanci University, the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD), and a number of generous individual donors.

Corporations and individuals who provide significant support for the Center become members of the Brookings Council. This provides them with a variety of opportunities to be involved in the life of the Institution. A full list of Brookings Institution contributors is provided in the Brookings Annual Report. For more information about supporting the Center on the United States and Europe, please contact Associate Director Andrew Moffatt at amoffatt@brookings.edu.