We knew that America’s attention had turned to China, which is challenging its primacy, but we did not realise that the Trump administration hated Europe to such an extent.
Claims over Greenland, insults, provocations, discriminatory tariffs, abandoning Ukraine, support for Eurosceptics, a rapprochement with Russia, war in the Middle East and questioning the Pope have finally convinced Europe that today’s United States is no longer an ally but represents a real danger.
Indeed, the rift between the two continents continues to widen.
Europeans have begun to respond to these hostile acts, albeit at their own pace, but through measures that cannot be undone.
Already, the ‘coalition of the willing’ has rallied behind Ukrainian interests without the Americans. Since then, 51 countries gathered in Paris on 17 April to coordinate their responses to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. NATO and all Western nations are refusing to intervene in Iran.
The 27 Member States of the Union are organising a collective defence exercise on the implementation of their mutual defence clause (Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union) and will discuss this at their next summit meeting. Europe’s defence spending is being bolstered by substantial EU funding, with a preference for European-made equipment. It has risen by 12% since 2022 and by nearly 20% since 2014. Europe will soon be able to defend itself independently.
A number of concrete decisions are now being taken to ensure the development of European sovereignty.
The saga of the increasingly expensive F-35 and the ever-scarcer Patriot missiles is providing further proof of the need for European independence, to the extent that Switzerland is now reconsidering its purchases of these weapons.
In the banking and monetary sectors, European alternatives to American credit cards are emerging, and the digital euro currently in development will undoubtedly be stronger than American bitcoins.
Communication apps and software from major US tech firms are gradually being banned from European administrations, at both national and European levels. The Commission, which has banned TikTok and WhatsApp for its staff, has just awarded a €186 million contract to a consortium of six EU service providers to set up a European cloud.
Europe’s autonomy is taking shape. One might find it too slow; but there is no turning back.
We will not go back on the development and use of these sovereign tools.
The omnipresent media coverage of a loud-mouthed president obscures a profound shift away from Europe, but also the isolation of the United States.
No one will welcome this, for with Trump, Europeans will have lost a friend within the free world.
This drift is irreversible and is forcing Europe, little by little, to build its independence.
