European Union policymakers should themselves consider how better to speak, and listen, to America and the rest of the world. The European Union is punching well below its weight in communication terms.

There is no question that the European Union has enormous public diplomacy potential – the combined ‘infopolitik’ might of the 28 member states and the Commission is formidable.

1. Austria: Sebastian Kurz (since 16/12/2013)
2. Belgium: Didier Reynders (since 06/12/2011)
3. Bulgaria: Daniel Mitov (since 06/08/2014)
4. Croatia: Davor Ivo Stier (since 19/10/2016)
5. Cyprus: Ioannis Kasoulidis (since 01/03/2016)
6. Czech Republic: Lubomir Zaoralek ( since 29/01/2014)
7. Denmark: Anders Samuelsen (since 28/11/2016)
8. Estonia: Sven Mikser (since 23/11/2016)
9. Finland: Timo Soini (since 29/05/2015)
10. France: Jean-Marc Ayrault (since 11/02/2016)
11. Germany: Frank-Walter Steinmeier (since 17/12/2013)

The political reality is that the EU will be unable to redefine its mission before 2018–2019. After the blow of Brexit, there is no going back to business as usual; yet the electoral timetable and divisions across Europe make major decisions impossible for at least two years. The sense of drift is heightened by traditional forms of leadership becoming dysfunctional. The Franco-German couple is not producing solutions.

1. The new administration is likely to freeze on-going negotiations between the EU and the U.S. over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the aim of which was to create a Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA). Freezing on-going negotiations may not substantially dame or even have an impact on the Atlantic alliance given that negotiations were stuck in a gridlock due to significant opposition in the U.S. and particularly in Europe.

During the first White House Briefing, the following countries were mentioned:

• Russia
• Egypt
• Mexico
• Canada
• China
• Syria
• Iraq
• Taiwan
• India
• United Kingdom
• NAFTA 
• TTP

Europe is NOT in the loop. It's all about bilateral agreements, not multilateral agreements. Trade, market access, jobs for American workers.

A meeting with the EU is not a priority for President Trump who wants to focus meeting with individual countries, not the 28-nation bloc.

Authors: Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson

Amy Gutmann,Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Dennis Thompson, Professor of Political Philosophy at Harvard University.

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1. Do not assume the worst. Don’t lament. Instead, look for ways to engage President Trump and his team and try to shape your views to support U.S. engagement and trans-Atlantic cooperation.
2. Do not push for big decisions early on. As President Trump gains experience on foreign policy, he will increasingly rely on the counsel of his cabinet primarily his Secretary of State Mr. Rex Tillerson and his Secretary of Defence General James Mattis.  Also cultivate good relations with Vice President Mike Pence.

For now, Mrs. Angela Merkel retains her role as de facto European Chancellor, simply because there is no alternative. But can Mrs. Merkel's Europe now hold together? Can she become a worthy partner to President Trump in the approaching conflicts over trade relations and regulations, international agreements, relations with Russia ? Can Mrs.Merkel rely on European backing?

There are two opportunities next month for Europe to share its views and meet with representatives of the new administration.

The EU needs to change the way it interacts with the United States.The EU should develop a U.S. policy by reaching out to a broad spectrum of American society and doing much more public diplomacy to convince Americans outside the new administration to work with Europe on improving the state of the world. The EU has long promoted civil society dialogue in its relations with third countries. It now needs to apply this method to transatlantic relations, too.

The relationship between the EU and President-elect Trump got off to an inauspicious start, after the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker on 11 November 2016 during a conference in Luxembourg in front of students fired a volley of criticism across the Atlantic saying  "We will need to teach the President-elect what Europe is and how it works,” “I think we will waste two years before Mr. Trump tours the world he does not know."