EU advised to consider strategic autonomy

Amid the "America First" policy pursued by the current United States administration and escalating great power rivalries, European experts echoed that the geopolitical turbulence puts Europe in a tougher position, one in which the continent must seriously consider its strategic autonomy.

They made the remarks recently at the Caixin London Atlantic Dialogue, hosted by the Chinese media group Caixin.

In the "Expecting Unexpected: How We Navigate an Unfamiliar World" panel, Mark Leonard, co-founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a pan-European think tank, said the US policy shift represents a "secular trend" and, fundamentally, an ideological reversal, as the US appears no longer aligned with Europe in upholding the consensus around the so-called rules-based international order that has governed the West for the past 80 years.