Cooperation through Institutionalization? A Critical Assessment of Transatlantic Institutional Cooperation Mechanisms

The transatlantic dialogue between the European Union and the United States has long been a cornerstone of global diplomacy, underpinned by shared values, robust economic ties, and mutual strategic interests. Over the years numerous dialogues, regulatory cooperation, political agreements, formal treaties or informal institutions, have been established through the years contributing to the creation of an institutional and resilient framework for managing their bilateral relations and facilitate cooperation. Efforts to revitalize this partnership have given rise in recent years to initiatives such as the Trade and Technology Council, to harmonize EU and US policies on supply chain resilience, trade standards, and emerging technologies. These initiatives complement long-standing platforms such as the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue which facilitates exchanges between lawmakers. Such mechanisms aim to bridge policy differences and sustain dialogue, recognizing that coordinated action is essential to maintaining transatlantic influence amid rising international competition and internal divergences. However, geopolitical challenges, regulatory discrepancies, and protectionist tendencies, often complicate smooth cooperation. This paper thus intent to evaluate the progress of both forum in strengthening transatlantic alignment from 2021 to 2024. It concludes by stating that while they both play a critical role in fostering mutual trust and understanding between transatlantic actors, their results are limited by their lacks of direct competencies, low ambitions and persistent regulatory divergences, often resulting in broad declarations rather than concrete outcomes. Nevertheless, the paper argues that their capacity to support dialogues, long-term understanding and gradual convergence is crucial, not as a substitute for formal diplomacy and multilateralism, but as a complement to them.