US President Donald Trump indicators an government order designating fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction” on the White Home on Dec. 15, 2025. (UPI/Yonhap)
The Hankyoreh’s senior worldwide affairs author Jung E-gil breaks down widespread questions, providing easy-to-understand explanations of worldwide information.
Getting on top of things
Relations between the US and Europe are falling aside. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to Europe as an ally that treats America worse than its enemies. Concerning the state of Europe, the Trump administration’s Nationwide Safety Technique doc, launched on Dec. 4, concluded, “Ought to current tendencies proceed, the continent will likely be unrecognizable in 20 years or much less.”
Because the free world’s greatest and strongest alliance, the partnership between the US and Europe has upheld the worldwide order for the reason that finish of World Conflict II. Its dissolution indicators Europe’s weakening place within the worldwide group. This aligns with the Trump administration’s new overseas coverage, which entails abandoning the function of the US because the protector of the liberal worldwide order.
Q. What did the Trump administration lately say about Europe?
A. After the White Home launched the NSS on Dec. 4, Trump has ramped up his criticism of Europe. In an interview printed by Politico on Dec. 9, Trump lambasted Europe as a “decaying” group of countries led by “weak” individuals.
“If it retains going the best way it’s going, Europe won’t be — in my view, a lot of these nations won’t be viable nations any longer. Their immigration coverage is a catastrophe,” Trump mentioned within the interview. “I hate what’s occurred to London, and I hate what’s occurred to Paris.”
Again in February, Trump reportedly mentioned that the EU was shaped “to screw” the US.
Q. Hasn’t Trump at all times been essential of Europe?
A. Because the starting of Trump’s first administration, Trump has lambasted European nations for his or her inadequate contributions to NATO. Now he’s reached the purpose of political interference.
On Jan. 15, 2017, lower than per week earlier than taking workplace for his first time period, Trump mentioned throughout an interview with The Occasions in London that NATO was “out of date” and now not helpful, not directly rejecting the significance of Europe, which the US is obliged to defend by the NATO alliance.
Throughout a NATO summit in July 2018, Trump indicated that the US couldn’t shield any European nation that doesn’t spend 2% of its nationwide GDP on protection. Reuters reported that Trump instructed NATO leaders throughout a closed-door assembly that if European governments didn’t meet their protection spending necessities, the USA “must look to go its personal approach,” in line with an official current within the room.
On July 15, 2018, forward of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump mentioned in the course of the CBS program “Face the Nation,” “Properly, I believe we’ve plenty of foes. I believe the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in commerce.”
Following the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2020, Trump was quoted as saying, “You want to perceive that if Europe is underneath assault, we are going to by no means come that will help you and to assist you” by Thierry Breton, a French commissioner of the EU.
Shortly after Trump’s inauguration for his second time period, Vice President JD Vance addressed the Munich Safety Convention. Vance remarked that “the risk that I fear probably the most about vis-a-vis Europe shouldn’t be Russia, it’s not China, it’s not another exterior actor. And what I fear about is the risk from inside, the retreat of Europe from a few of its most basic values — values shared with the USA of America.”
Vance’s remarks referred to as out European administrations’ hate-speech laws as assaults on freedom of speech and as a violation of democratic ideas.
However now in its second time period, the Trump administration has gone up to now that it’s now meddling with the interior affairs of European nations.
Q. Why is the Trump administration so essential of Europe to the purpose of outright disdain?
A. Europe’s function within the worldwide group has diminished. The aforementioned NSS states, “Continental Europe has been dropping share of worldwide GDP — down from 25 p.c in 1990 to 14 p.c at this time — partly owing to nationwide and transnational laws that undermine creativity and industriousness.”
Within the early 2000s, in the course of the administration of George W. Bush, US Protection Secretary Donald Rumsfeld referred to “Outdated Europe” and “New Europe.” When requested about European opposition to the removing of Saddam Hussein from energy in Iraq, Rumsfeld replied, “Now you’re pondering of Europe as Germany and France. I don’t. I believe that’s previous Europe. If you happen to take a look at the complete NATO Europe at this time, the middle of gravity is shifting to the east and there are plenty of new members.”
As Rumsfeld predicted, the US has shifted a lot of its focus from the European continent to the Asia-Pacific area. This pivot accelerated after the 2000s. Now, the Trump administration’s transactional method to Europe is resulting in overt repudiation of Europe.
Through the second Trump administration, the tradition battle based mostly on far-right populism has expanded to Europe in some methods. This previous February, Vance started the assault that empowered the European far proper.
Below a piece titled “Selling European Greatness,” the NSS states, “America encourages its political allies in Europe to advertise this revival of spirit, and the rising affect of patriotic European events certainly provides trigger for nice optimism.”
This means that the US desires to vary the path of European politics and tradition, which had been dominated by reasonable leftism and conservatism, towards the MAGA path.
Plans to determine the “Core 5,” or C5, as a substitute for the Group of Seven framework had been included within the prolonged model of the primary draft of the NSS, in line with a report by the navy information outlet Protection One on Dec. 10.
Protection One reported that the C5 would come with nations with a inhabitants over 100,000 million, such because the US, China, Russia, India and Japan. Protection One reported that “the NSS proposes to focus US relationships with European nations on a number of nations with like-minded — right-wing, presumably — present administrations and actions,” noting that within the safety doc, Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Poland are listed as nations the US ought to “work extra with [. . .] with the aim of pulling them away from the [European Union].”
Q. What has the response been in Europe?
A. Many in Europe are additionally saying the continent ought to detach itself from Trump’s America. Josep Borrell, the previous vp of the European Fee, mentioned that the US’ newest NSS is “a declaration of political battle on the EU.”
“European leaders ought to cease pretending that Trump shouldn’t be our opponent, hiding behind fearful and complacent silence, and as a substitute defend the EU’s sovereignty — technologically, within the discipline of safety and protection, in addition to politically,” he mentioned.
Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland and former president of the European Council, posted on X, “Pricey American associates, Europe is your closest ally, not your downside.”
On Could 28, 2017, proper after a spat between the US and Europe concerning the latter’s monetary contributions to NATO, then German Chancellor Angela Merkel mentioned at a rally in Munich, “The instances wherein we may fully depend upon others are on the best way out. I’ve skilled that in the previous couple of days.”
“We Europeans should take our future into our personal arms,” she added, arguing from a Europe impartial of the US.
Nevertheless, within the time since, European leaders have stumbled over one another to curry favor with Trump. As Ukraine hits a brick wall throughout peace negotiations with Russia, Kyiv and Europe are essentially reliant on the US for leverage.
Q. Europe helps Ukraine, which rejected the peace deal brokered by the US, because it displays a few of Russia’s calls for. Doesn’t that point out that Europe isn’t reliant on the US?
A. All through the battle in Ukraine, Europe has exhibited inconsistent, contradictory attitudes and in the end adopted the US’ lead. The outbreak of the battle was tied to the enlargement of NATO. Western European nations had been hesitant to develop NATO into former Soviet territories, and so they needed to deepen relations with Russia.
Germany and France had been involved about relations with Russia when it got here to the NATO enlargement, however exhibited patterns that in the end indicated consent, in line with establishments just like the Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace.
In 2008, Germany and France opposed the NATO Membership Motion Plan (MAP) — a steerage program for nations aspiring to affix NATO — being prolonged to Ukraine and Georgia, each former Soviet territories, underneath a US-led initiative.
NATO leaders opted for a boilerplate assertion in a written declaration suggesting that Ukraine would ultimately grow to be a member of NATO, and pushed again precise procedures for admission.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Western European nations seen Russia as a goal for collaboration and absorption. Germany, specifically, tried to develop into the Japanese European market to deepen its vitality and financial cooperation with Russia.
The US opposed the Nord Stream pipeline that linked Germany and Russia, arguing that it might make Europe depending on Russian oil.
In 2014, amid Ukraine’s makes an attempt to affix the EU and the collapse of a pro-Russia administration, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, and a civil battle broke out within the Donbas area alongside Ukraine’s border with Russia.
Germany and France brokered the primary and second Minsk agreements, which outlined a excessive stage of autonomy for the Donbas area, however the US was lukewarm about them. Even earlier than the battle in Ukraine, Germany and France made diplomatic makes an attempt to cease the battle from boiling over, however the Joe Biden administration didn’t supply aggressive assist.
As soon as the battle broke out, Germany and France led the hard-line stand in opposition to Russia. Through the early days of the battle, they strongly opposed the Istanbul peace talks. Now that the Trump administration is attempting to dealer a peace deal, it’s Europe that’s holding the US again.
Q. Why has Europe’s stance been so inconsistent? Does Europe have any options?
A. Though Europe acknowledges that Russia is struggling to take care of its battle in opposition to Ukraine, European nations are nonetheless not ruling out the potential for Russia invading Western Europe. The battle in Ukraine is a fireplace beneath Europe’s ft. The US is making an attempt to shift duty for Ukraine and Europe’s protection onto the nations of Europe and pull out.
Because of the battle, Europe is vulnerable to being left to face alone. Over the last NATO summit in June, the US demanded that European members improve protection spending to five% of nationwide GDP, a tall order that they agreed to satisfy. This could possibly be seen as each an appeasement to Trump’s America and a call to grow to be extra impartial.
The growing consciousness all through Europe of the risk posed by Russia will be seen as a motive for its effort to grow to be militarily stronger. NATO Secretary-Basic Mark Rutte mentioned on Dec. 11, “Battle is at our door. Russia has introduced battle again to Europe, and we should be ready for the dimensions of battle our grandparents or great-grandparents endured.
In different phrases, Europe may see a 3rd world battle, and he recognized Russia because the European continent’s greatest risk.
It stays to be seen whether or not this method will safe long-term stability for Europe.
Earlier than the battle in Ukraine, Germany imported 32% of its pure gasoline, 34% of its oil, and 53% of its coal from Russia. After the battle, they’ve managed to wean off Russian vitality, leaving Germany’s capability to amass and combine vitality severely declined.
Otto von Bismarck, who oversaw the unification of Germany within the late nineteenth century, famously mentioned that the key of politics was to “make an excellent treaty with Russia.”
Historically, Germany has seen relations with Russia as key to its safety. Secure relations with Russia are additionally key to stability in European safety.
The US has gone again on its argument that Russia is the invader and the supply of the battle in a single day, and is now seeking to enhance relations with Russia. Europe can be determined for the battle in Ukraine to finish. Going ahead, they want steady relations with Russia as a way to stand on their very own. The longer the Russo-Ukrainian battle drags out, the longer their dependence on the US will proceed.
By Jung E-gil, senior employees author
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