Relations between the European Union and the United States began in 1953, when US diplomats visited the European Coal and Steel Community (the EU precursor, created in 1951) in addition to the national governments of its six founding countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany, present-day Germany).

[1] In connection with the adoption of the New Transatlantic Agenda a Joint EU-U.S. Action Plan was drawn up committing the EU and the U.S. to a large number of measures within the overall areas of cooperation.

As an extension of the NTA efforts, agreement was reached at the 1998 London summit to intensify cooperation in the area of trade, which resulted in the Transatlantic Economic Partnership (TEP).

Bilaterally, TEP addresses various types of obstacles to trade and strives to establish agreements on mutual recognition in the areas of goods and services.

The European experience with the first Trump administration (2017–21) left uncertainty vis-à-vis a realistic prospect on long-term predictability of US foreign policy.

[9] On December 2, 2020, following the 2020 US presidential election, a joint communication published by the European Commission lined up a proposal for a new agenda of improvement of the EU–US relations with the incoming Biden administration, seeking for partnership in four major policy areas: health response, climate change, trade and tech, and security.

[11] On September 20, 2021, EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen called "not acceptable" the treatment of one of EU's member states (France) over the AUKUS submarine deal, when Australia, the United States and the UK negotiated a defense pact ditching a long-standing Australian agreement with France.

[14] On February 14, 2025, US Vice-President JD Vance delivered a speech before the 2025 Munich Security Conference[15] in which expressed what was viewed as support for extremist far-right movements within Europe.

[16] He criticized the leadership of the European Union for insufficient spending on defense and claimed that the EU was engaging in the suppression of free speech.

"[18] German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said that Vance's comparison of parts of Europe to authoritarian regimes was "not acceptable".

[33][34] In February 2021, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated that the European Union and United States should join forces in combatting climate change and agreeing on a new framework for the digital market to limit the power of large tech companies.

[36][37] On 26 April 2023, the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Department of Defense have formalized a framework for cooperation through the signing of an Administrative Arrangement (AA).

The EU has been under domestic pressure to restrict the growth and import of genetically modified foods until their safety is proven to the satisfaction of the populace.

The Washington Post claimed on November 2, 2005, that the United States was maintaining several secret jails (or "black sites") in Eastern Europe.

Also, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) planes carrying terror suspects would have made secret stopovers in several West European countries since 2001.

[43][44][45][46][47] Extraordinary rendition flights through Europe were investigated over a number of years by the European Parliament and it held a temporary committee on the matter.

The EU has also opposed the use of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and offered to host some former inmates when its closure was announced by the administration of US President Barack Obama.

In 2008, President Barack Obama said that he planned on setting annual targets to reduce emissions,[52][53] although this doesn't include the Kyoto Protocol—likely because developing nations are exempt.

In mid-June 2017, Germany and Austria issued a joint statement that said the proposed anti-Russian Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act bill heralded a "new and very negative quality in European-American relations" and that certain provisions affecting gas pipeline projects with Russia were an illegal threat to EU energy security.

[57] At the end of July 2017, the proposed law's Russia sanctions caused harsh criticism and threats of retaliatory measures on the part of the European Union President Jean-Claude Juncker.

[58] Germany's minister for Economics and Energy Brigitte Zypries described the sanctions as illegal under international law and urged the European Union to take appropriate counter-measures.

The reports revealed that the United States bugged offices, accessed internal computer networks, obtained documents and emails, and listened to phone calls.

[61] On June 30, 2013, the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz demanded for a full clarification from Washington and stated that if the allegations were true, EU and US relations would be severely impacted.

[66][67] As part of their international aid, the EU offered tenders, on a first-come-first-served basis, for bananas from countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The United States argued that it favored local producers in former colonies of EU member-states over US-owned corporations in Latin America.

[68] Such goods included cashmere from Scotland and French Cognac brandy, made in the original constituency of then Prime Minister of France Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

The Clinton administration then took the banana wars to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1999, after Chiquita made a $500,000 donation to the Democratic Party.

It meets at least once per year and is jointly headed by the US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs and the EU's Commissioner for Trade.

[77] Poland is urging the EU to start a campaign in the U.S. to enhance transatlantic relations and combat Russian disinformation before the U.S. presidential election.