Europe and America must build a stronger and more trusted transatlantic partnership

At the conclusion of its extended Bureau visit to Washington, D.C. from 29 June to 2 July 2026, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament underlined its commitment to fostering the transatlantic partnership on the basis of trust, strategic realism, mutual responsibility and practical cooperation.

During the visit, ECR Bureau members held extensive exchanges in Washington with representatives of the US Administration, Members of Congress and leading conservative and transatlantic policy partners. The aim was to deepen political dialogue and strengthen mutual trust.

The visit demonstrated the ECR Group’s commitment to a serious and regular dialogue with American partners at a time when Europe and the United States face shared strategic challenges and need a stronger basis of responsibility and practical cooperation.

The ECR Group believes that the United States remains Europe’s indispensable strategic ally. In the context of war on the European continent, growing instability in the Middle East, mounting pressure from authoritarian powers and increasing economic competition, Europe and the United States must work more closely together to defend their shared security, prosperity and freedom.

The visit also confirmed the need for a more practical and reciprocal economic partnership between Europe and the United States. The ECR Group believes that competitiveness must be placed at the heart of European policy. Avoiding excessive regulation, reducing energy costs, strengthening industrial capacity and creating the conditions for businesses to innovate, invest and grow are in the interest of both sides of the Atlantic.

In this spirit, the ECR Group will continue to support closer EU–US cooperation on trade and economic security, critical supply chains, advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, cybersecurity, energy security, critical infrastructure, critical minerals and defence industrial cooperation.

Europe and the United States should build on their respective comparative strengths and identify new opportunities for industrial cooperation, rather than pursue parallel policies that create artificial and unnecessary barriers between allies. Technological resilience must not lead to digital protectionism, and economic security must not be used as an excuse to create new obstacles to trade and investment between trusted partners.

The ECR Group also stressed that strong transatlantic relations rest not only on shared interests, but also on shared values. Free speech, democratic accountability, open debate, the protection of families and children, and the defence of fundamental freedoms must remain central to the relationship between Europe and the United States.

The ECR Group will continue to work closely with US counterparts who share its belief that free societies are strongest when they protect democratic debate, encourage innovation and resist unnecessary state intervention.

The task now is to turn transatlantic dialogue into better and more concrete cooperation. Europe and the United States are strongest when they work together as confident friends and allies: defending freedom, strengthening security, rebuilding competitiveness, protecting national resilience and upholding the foundations of Western societies.