# World Economic Forum 2026

The Troubled Partnership Frays: US–Europe Rift Exposes a New Postwar Reality

Blunt American criticisms at high‑profile international meetings have exposed deepening fractures in US–European relations, driven by economic shifts, divergent values and contested security expectations. The rupture raises questions about NATO’s cohesion, the future of the liberal international order and Europe’s push for strategic autonomy, with broad consequences for global stability and alignment.