In his commentary, Dr. Heumann assessed the latest paper by French political scientist Sylvain Kahn, “Is Atlanticism dead? Long live Europe!” (orig.: L'atlantisme est mort ? Vive l'Europe !). In Dr. Heumann's view, the paper is a “concise analysis” of current transatlantic relations in the Trump era and can be understood as a “passionate call” to Europeans to “emancipate” themselves from the United States.
Dr. Heumann divided his commentary into four sections. First, he examined the effect of Trump's presidency on European trade and security policy, for instance through Trump's tariff policy and his neglect of the US's mutual defense commitment to its European partners within NATO. In the next section, Dr. Heumann commented on the way Sylvain Kahn presents the strategic reorientation of the US under Trump. The former ambassador then addressed the threat to the US separation of powers posed by Trump's domestic policy decisions. At the end of his commentary, Dr. Heumann summarized the history of European integration and analyzed possible security policy solutions for Europe to reduce its military dependence on the US and ultimately become strategically autonomous.