News Release

Brookings Launches Center on the United States and Europe

April 5, 2004

To build on its longstanding interest in the evolving transatlantic relationship and to address the serious differences that have emerged between America and Europe after the September 11 terrorist attacks and throughout the ongoing war on terrorism, Brookings today announced the launch of its new Center on the United States and Europe. The center will offer a forum for research, high-level dialogue, and public debate on issues affecting U.S.-Europe relations.

“Brookings has been extending the reach and diversity of its international programs for some time, but the process has accelerated in recent years,” said Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution. “We see this venture as another major step in that direction.”

The Center’s initial research program focuses on three key areas: the United States and Europe in the global arena, including the Middle East and international order; the completion of the European zone of peace, including the Balkans, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine; and the consequences of European Union integration for relations with the United States. The Center will also house existing Brookings programs on France, Turkey, and Russia and launch a new program on Italy.

“We are living through a period of tremendous change, both within Europe and between Europe and the United States,” said Philip H. Gordon, the center’s director. “Understanding those changes will be necessary to help prevent them from undermining a relationship that has been a pillar of world order for nearly sixty years.”

The Center will produce an array of publications—books, monographs, articles, and a regular, web-based U.S.-Europe Analysis Series—and will convene several forums throughout the year, including:

  • The Daimler-Chrysler U.S.-European Forum on Global Issues: a regular senior-level dialogue that will meet every six months;
  • The U.S.-Europe Roundtable Series: discussion groups with visiting European officials, politicians, business leaders, analysts, and scholars;
  • Leadership Forums: public addresses by senior statesmen, officials, and politicians from Europe.

“Recent transatlantic disputes have served to underscore the crucial importance of informed, insightful analysis on U.S.-European relations. The creation of the Center on the United States and Europe will strengthen Brookings’s ability to help policymakers and the public on both sides of the Atlantic meet the critical challenges ahead,” said James B. Steinberg, vice president for Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings.

In addition to an international advisory council, the Center staff will be led by an accomplished team of scholars on Europe. For more information about the Center, its staff, and upcoming events and publications, visit brookings-edu-2023.go-vip.net/cuse

About Brookings

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Our mission is to conduct in-depth, nonpartisan research to improve policy and governance at local, national, and global levels.