Great Decisions: The Future of U.S.-European Relations

U.S. foreign policy is undergoing a period of recalibration, prompting renewed debate over how to balance domestic priorities with international engagement. As Washington redefines its global role, what are the implications for the future of transatlantic relations? How might shifting approaches to security, trade, and multilateral cooperation reshape ties between the United States and Europe—and where do opportunities for renewed alignment lie?

This program brings together Ambassador (ret.) Mark Libby, WorldBoston Ambassador-in-Residence, and Ruth Bajada, Deputy Chief of Mission of the European Union to the United States, for a timely and nuanced discussion. Bajada currently serves in Washington in a leading EU diplomatic role, while Libby previously held the parallel position as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the EU. This shared perspective—shaped from opposite sides of the same relationship—offers a rare combination of credibility, candor, and personal rapport as they explore how both sides of the Atlantic can navigate emerging challenges while sustaining one of the world’s most consequential partnerships.

The program will be live-streamed to Zoom from 6:00-7:00 PM. To attend virtually, please register here.

This program is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.

Disclaimer: WorldBoston is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, non-advocacy, educational organization dedicated to fostering civil discourse on international affairs. Our speakers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WorldBoston, our affiliates, or our community.

Ruth Bajada is the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in Washington. Ms. Bajada has over 23 years of experience in EU affairs and 20 years in foreign policy. Between 2020 and 2024, Ruth Bajada was Deputy Director/Head of Division United States and Canada in the European External Action Service (EEAS). She served as the Political Advisor to the EEAS Secretary General (2019-2020) and was posted in Chile (2015-2019) and Lebanon (2012-2015).

Ms. Bajada joined the European institutions in 2002 and worked at the European Parliament and the Secretariat General of the Council of Ministers.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Malta, a MA in European studies from the College of Europe (Bruges-Belgium) and a MA in International Relations from ULB/Paris II.

Mark Libby is WorldBoston's Ambassador-in-Residence and served as United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan from 2023 to 2025. From 2021 until 2023, he served as an Assistant Professor and Department of State Faculty Advisor at the National War College. Ambassador Libby previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires (acting Ambassador) at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels from July 2018 until June 2021.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, his other overseas assignments have included tours in Warsaw, Nassau, Nicosia, and Baghdad, where he served as a political counselor. His Washington assignments have included tours as a watch-stander, and later director for crisis management, in the State Department Operations Center; deputy director in the Office of Central European Affairs; director of the Office of Southern European Affairs (Turkey, Greece, Cyprus); and director of orientation at the Foreign Service Institute. He was also a line officer on the State Department Secretariat Staff under Secretary Powell, returning later as director of that same office under Secretary Clinton.

Ambassador Libby did his undergraduate studies at Tufts University in Massachusetts and at the Institut des Etudes Politiques (“Sciences-Po”) in Paris; he is a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College, where he earned a Master’s Degree in 2014. He is fluent in Polish and French and has some proficiency in Azerbaijani and Turkish. He was awarded the Presidential Rank Award in 2022 and is the recipient of multiple Department of State Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards. Originally from New England, Ambassador Libby is married and has one son.

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