European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
United States
President Trump’s record to date [What Think Tanks are thinking]
Donald Trump has made a number of highly controversial decisions during his first 13 months as US President – whether on foreign trade, climate change, migration, taxation or health care. Continue reading
Kremlin trolls in the US presidential election
Discussions about Kremlin interference in the 2016 US presidential election initially focused on Russian hackers and leaked e-mails. However, US Congress enquiries have highlighted the important role played by Russian social media activity in influencing public opinion. Continue reading
United States Congress: Facts and Figures
This EPRS Briefing is designed to provide key facts and figures about the US Congress as an institution, including relevant comparisons with the European Parliament (EP). The back page contains a map showing the location of the various Congressional buildings on Capitol Hill, home to the Congress in Washington DC. Continue reading
US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel
On 6 December 2017, US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, mirroring the official Israeli position on the status of the city. Continue reading
US decertification of the Iran nuclear deal
On 13 October, US President Donald Trump announced his decision not to certify Iran’s compliance with the international nuclear agreement of 2015. Continue reading
Paris Agreement: United States withdrawal
Written by Gregor Erbach, On 1 June 2017, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change and try to negotiate a deal that is more favourable to the USA. The withdrawal could come into effect in November 2020 at the earliest, coinciding with the next … Continue reading
How Congress and President shape US foreign policy
Written by Micaela Del Monte and Elena Lazarou, The United States Constitution regulates the conduct of American foreign policy through a system of checks and balances. The Constitution provides both Congress and the President, as the legislative and executive branches respectively, with the legal authority to shape relations with foreign nations. It recognises that only … Continue reading
‘Fake news’ and the EU’s response
Written by Naja Bentzen, Graphics by Christian Dietrich. Fake news – deliberately fabricated stories posing as journalism with the aim of manipulating readers – became an increasingly visible global phenomenon during last year’s presidential election campaign in the United States, not least due to the growing use of social media as a source for news. … Continue reading
EPRS conference: New US administration increasingly professional, despite early blunders
Written by Marcin Grajewski, American society and politicians may be more polarised than ever, the new President, Donald Trump may be mercurial and unpopular, but the American economy looks poised for accelerated growth, the foundations of American foreign and defence policy are solid, and the new administration is becoming increasingly professional, according to analysts and … Continue reading
Justice against sponsors of terrorism: JASTA and its international impact
Written by Carmen-Cristina Cîrlig and Patryk Pawlak, On 27 September 2016, the United States Congress overrode the presidential veto to pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), the culmination of lengthy efforts to facilitate lawsuits by victims of terrorism against foreign states and officials supporting terrorism. Until JASTA, under the ‘terrorism exception’ in … Continue reading
US elections [What Think Tanks are Thinking]
Written by Marcin Grajewski, The United States choose their next president on 8 November, with implications for international relations, security, trade and fight against climate change. The vote follows an acrimonious campaign, which analysts say points to a deeply divided nation on issues such as the US international role, immigration, social protection, taxation as well … Continue reading
Understanding US Presidential elections
Written by Carmen-Cristina Cirlig and Micaela Del Monte Graphics by Giulio Sabbati In July 2016, the two major US parties will nominate their respective official candidate for the 58th US presidential election which takes place in November. With less than three months before the national conventions, and a large number of delegates already allocated, on … Continue reading
Reactions to the EU-US Privacy Shield, the successor to the Safe Harbour agreement
Written by Jan Baeverstroem, On 2 February 2016 the College of Commissioners approved the political agreement on the ‘The EU-US Privacy Shield’ , which was followed on 29 February 2016 by a draft “adequacy decision ” and the communication ‘Transatlantic Data Flows: Restoring Trust through Strong Safeguards ‘. The Commission has also made the US Government’s written commitments … Continue reading
Asylum policy in the USA
Written by Ionel Zamfir To date, the United States has been a world leader in admitting people fleeing conflicts and persecution to settle on its territory. However, the nation wants to choose who it admits as a refugee. While refugees resettled by the US government enjoy generous support, asylum-seekers coming to the country on their … Continue reading
Role of the US Congress in trade agreements: The ‘Fast-Track’ procedure
Written by Micaela Del Monte and Laura Puccio Since 1974 the United States Congress has enacted Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation to ensure speedy implementation of trade agreements in the United States, while maintaining a congressional hold on the objectives to be pursued by US negotiators. TPA defines a streamlined procedure (or expedited procedure) to … Continue reading
US humanitarian response to the Syrian refugee crisis
Written by Micaela Del Monte and Laura Yuko Hasters In recent months, the European Union has faced an unprecedented exodus of asylum-seekers and other migrants, arriving from Syria in particular. The current humanitarian emergency is the result of a conflict-embroiled country and ongoing horrific human rights violations, resulting in one of the worst humanitarian crisis … Continue reading
Climate policies in the EU and USA: Different approaches, convergent outcomes?
Written by Gregor Erbach This briefing surveys the climate policies of the European Union and the United States and identifies both similarities and differences in their respective positions ahead of the UN climate change conference (COP21) in Paris. Both the EU and the USA have achieved emission reductions in recent years, although the policy frameworks … Continue reading
TTIP & ISDS
Written by Jan Baeverstroem The progress made on comprehensive free trade agreements (FTAs) between the EU and Canada and the United States – in both cases including provisions for ISDS – has intensified discussion on the mechanism in the EU. A number of doubts exist with respect to the impartiality of arbitrators, while the relative … Continue reading
EU trade talks with the US: 5th round of negotiations
The bilateral trade relationship between the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) is the largest in the world, but it has been stagnating over the last decade. With a view to strengthening it and thus boosting their respective economies, in 2013 the EU and the US entered into negotiations for a wide-ranging trade … Continue reading
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