The upcoming elections in the United States stand as a grand occasion for the political stability of Europe, NATO, and international relations. The relationship between the United States and NATO remains critical in terms of trade, security, and risk of threats from Russia and China.

Jonathan Miller, Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign Affairs, National Defence and National Security, Macdonald-Laurier Institute, outlines the prospects of both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump winning the elections in the United States and warns the audience and governments globally to, “control what you can control”. Miller underscores the economic fears of a possible second Trump presidency, citing “raging tariffs, poor negotiations, and potential isolationist policies”.

Further discussing the prospects of either candidate winning the United States Presidential election Daniel Fried, Former US Ambassador to Poland and Distinguished Fellow of the Atlantic Council, argues a Kamala Harris presidency would see a, “stronger American commitment” to European relations and her experience in navigating the Russo-Ukrainian war has given her ample experience in foreign policy. This point was made strongly. Another strongly emphasized point was the need for Europe and Canada to “step up on defense spending” arguing the Poles have done well in this regard while strong assessments of countries like France and Germany were deemed lackadaisical on the matter by Daniel Fried.

Shifting topic to Vladimir Putin, Rastislav Káčer, Former Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic argues the European community has made a mistake in looking at Putin in a “European rational lens” as opposed to a Russian one. Káčer strongly reflects upon Donald Trump saying he would be a test of will for Euroepans to stand up for their strategic interests, deeming Trump a “cartoon” in an impassioned excerpt and would need the United States to stay engaged in European affairs.

Ondřej Kovařík, Member of the European Parliament, concurs with Fried that some European countries are not doing enough and need to step up more in supporting strategic goals. Kovařík furthermore argues that North America is important and needed in strategic partnership.

Erion Veliaj, Mayor of Tirana, considers how to transition from burden sharing to responsibility sharing for smaller countries in Europe. For example, he cites a strong example of Albanians assisting Afghans in the 1980s as fellow muslims while the rest of Europe sat idly by. Veliaj further argues that Europe and specifically the Balkans heavily benefits from the United States’ presence in Europe.

Shifting the topic of discussion, China becomes the focal point as Jonathon Miller argues the need to consider more adversaries such as North Korea, Iran, and Russia in the context of a necessity for European and American cooperation. Daniel Fried concurs on this point, “the United States cannot deal with China unilaterally” arguing that it needs Europe.

NATO should be looking at the Belt and Road Initiative in Europe in security terms and Chinese investment to buy influence. NATO is proposed to be the platform to keep Europe united on numerous fronts.

Erion Veliaj proposes the question as to why it is easier for some countries to get finance from China for infrastructure projects than from the European Union, using his native Albania as an example. The Balkans are argued to not have the same help from the West as they receive from the Chinese.

Japan and South Korea pose great opportunities for collaboration and safety with Balkan nations. These collaborations will be needed in order to contain the spheres of influence from the Chinese by means of the Belt and Road Initiative and Russia through military aggression. Being able to coordinate a transatlantic defense against nuclear threats is critical for Europe in the 21st century.