When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made separate visits to Washington and met with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss trans-Atlantic relations and the war in Ukraine — with uncertain results. On Sunday, Starmer hosted Macron, Zelensky, and other European leaders in London for a summit to discuss the war in Ukraine and European security. Starmer stated that “Europe must do the heavy lifting, but, to support peace on our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong U.S. backing.” Sunday’s meeting followed a similar summit in Paris in February.As European leaders seek to adjust to significant changes in U.S. foreign policy, we asked four experts how key countries are changing their strategies and defense spending in response to the new Trump administration.Read more below.Matthew Savill Director of Military Sciences, Royal United Services InstituteThe United Kingdom’s close military and intelligence relationship with the United States is beneficial but also makes it uniquely vulnerable to any U.S. disruption. The response to Trump so far has been typically British: avoid choosing between Europe and the United States, don’t criticize the United States in public, and try and push the rest of Europe into being more active. We love attempting to be “the bridge” between the two.Nonetheless, British officials should be reconsidering U.S. dependencies and intelligence-sharing behind the scenes. And while Starmer’s visit to Washington last week seems to have gone well, British officials are going to be disappointed if they believe they will get much traction in the U.S.