Strategic cooperation and competition in US - EU relations (2022-2024)

Abstract

This article analyzes the transformation of US-EU relations from a traditional security alliance model to a state of "cooperation and competition" during the period 2022-2024. Drawing on three lenses - Realism, Institutional Liberalism, and Geoeconomics—this study clarifies how recent geopolitical shocks - the Russia - Ukraine war, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Gaza conflict, and the Red Sea shipping crisis - have both strengthened the axis of security cooperation and deepened the axis of economic and technological competition in transatlantic relations. Based on this, the article points out that the "cooperation and competition" between the US and the EU creates both new opportunities and constraints for middle-sized countries in leveraging competition to attract investment, restructure supply chains, and maintain a balanced, independent, and autonomous foreign policy.