Mark Leonard huddled together with editorial director for Le Monde and ECFR board and Council Member Sylvie Kauffmann and Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin office in one of the many rooms of the Bayerischer Hof to talk about the West’s thinking and reaction to the geopolitical challenges and battles of today: In the spotlight is of course the question about Ukraine. Has the West really started to “unlearn helplessness” that defined the Western countries’ policy responses? Did the MSC mark the revival of a forceful and united transatlantic alliance, ready to move away from affirmative words to assertive actions?