THE EU STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IDEA IN BIDEN ADMINISTRATION‘S FOREIGN POLICY: A RESET IN THE US APPROACH?

The EU Strategic autonomy is still very much about the United States. For decades, the United States had concerns about the European strategic autonomy, especially in the defence domain. The Trump administration, for instance, numerous times reminded European leaders that NATO, not the EU, is the key in the Western military alliance. Moreover, the Trump administration officials expressed deep concern about the European Defence Fund that is considered one of the steps towards European strategic autonomy. The new president of the US Joe Biden, on the other hand, underlines the restoration and strengthening of the transatlantic partnership amongst its top foreign policy priorities. The Biden administration also highlights that a strong EU remains in the EU interest. The paper explores the external factors that affect the development of the EU strategic autonomy and examines how the US approaches the EU thriving towards strategic autonomy in the defence domain. Has the US approach towards the EU strategic autonomy been dynamic? What concept of the European strategic autonomy would the US find acceptable (if any) or even beneficial? How might the pursuit of European strategic autonomy possibly affect the relations between the US and EU? With what risks and opportunities does this idea is associated in the Biden administration? To what extent should the European Union pursue autonomous action in security and defence, and how do such initiatives interact with the roles of the US and NATO? These are the questions that the paper aims to address.