Transatlantic Cooperation on AI and National Security

By Antonio Calcara and Zach Meyers

9.4.2026

CERRE and Atlantic Council

As artificial intelligence becomes central to national security and economic competition, transatlantic co-operation is under growing strain. In the paper ‘Transatlantic cooperation on AI and national security’, CERRE Director of Research Zach Meyers and Antonio Calcara, in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, examine how US export controls are shaping Europe’s strategic options. These developments highlight the close link between AI and national security. While US export controls aim to limit China’s technological progress, they also affect Europe’s ambitions to innovate, enhance its competitiveness, and achieve digital sovereignty. Without more structured co-operation, EU–US relations risk drifting towards “managed interdependence”, marked by asymmetric leverage and ad hoc bargaining rather than strategic alignment. Three challenges stand out: the unpredictability of US export control policy; the EU member states’ lack of unity in dealing with China; and the limited consideration of allies’ interests in US policymaking. Despite these barriers, co-operation remains both possible and necessary. EU–US co-ordination on export controls and sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows that alignment is achievable, even as both sides continue to face shared challenges such as enforcement gaps, circumvention risks, and trade-offs between security and innovation.

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