Europe and US need separate bedrooms' but not divorce, says David Miliband

Europe should pursue strategic autonomy without divorcing from the United States. Separate bedrooms are acceptable, but divorce is dangerous because it could place Europe in a very difficult position. Europe should develop agency in the economy and the military, including digital sovereignty in areas like AI. Achieving autonomy is challenging when procurement depends on European or American fighters and aircraft. Climate policy is cited as an area where Europe cannot afford to be held back by US reversals. Economic leadership and fair wealth distribution are presented as core to addressing Europe’s political and military weaknesses, especially given the gap in US versus European GDP per capita.

"“You can see the argument that strategic autonomy for Europe means divorce from the United States. I really counsel the dangers of that. Separate bedrooms, maybe. Divorce, no, he continued. Because there is huge potential for us to end up in a very, very difficult position if we go the divorce option.”"

"“Asked what that means in practice, Miliband joked that Europe also needed separate bank accounts, and said it needed to develop agency when it came to the economy and the military. That's difficult when it comes to fighters that you're buying, aircraft that you're buying you're buying European or you're buying American, and also in the AI space, where what it means to be digitally sovereign is very, very challenging.”"

"“The climate issue is a good example of where we can't afford to be held back by the fact that America is going into reverse. There's a massive economic interest as well as an environmental interest in Europe being at the absolute forefront, Miliband said. He added that generating wealth and distributing it fairly is core to addressing Europe's weaknesses politically and militarily, drawing attention to the fact that US GDP per capita is nearly twice that of Europe's in nominal terms.”"

"“The UK-US relationship is one-way, said Sands. Let's not have any self-delusion. He said the UK was far more dependent on the US. What we've learned in the last couple of years is that it's time to think through what we need.”"

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