Europe: A Total Break with Reality

The governing circles of Western European states are still struggling to come to terms with the shift in foreign policy and the new style of the Donald Trump administration.

Whereas the keynote of such documents was previously how to organise the fight against first the Soviet and then the Russian threat, this particular report concludes that the primary task is now to combat the Trump administration. It notes that across many Western societies, political forces favouring destruction over reform are gaining influence: the most powerful of those “wielding the axe to smash existing rules and institutions is US President Donald Trump.”

Europe is struggling to keep up with the world order shaped by Russia and China

According to the assumptions of the authors of the report, the desire for drastic change is fuelled by a widespread feeling among the population that Western political systems have failed to create the conditions for a fair society – in short, that there are no improvements in the people’s lives any longer. This kind of atmosphere of individual and collective helplessness brings forth the leaders who promise to revive a glorious past, leaders like Trump.

The authors suspect Trump of intending to establish an authoritarian system in the US (in their terms, he wants to “putinise America”). From their standpoint, Trump sees himself as having a mandate not only to reshape the US, but also to change its role in the world according to a highly subjective interpretation of national interests. Hence the plans to seize Greenland, the incursion into Venezuela, and much more that has made the world a far more perilous place. (Quoted from Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 10 February 2026)

Europeans remain deeply divided and uncertain about what course to opt for in relations with Washington – there is utter discord on the issue. Neither do they completely see eye to eye with each other on how to build ties with Russia. This is not just about the desire of Budapest, Bratislava, and more recently Prague to develop cooperation with Moscow, but also about open statements from Paris and Rome asserting that the Russian Federation is also a European state.

Europe Starts Acknowledging Its Problems

As The Washington Post highlighted on 15 February, Europe’s increasingly influential leaders are publicly admitting that their continent is in deep crisis: “Europe often swings between overly aggressive regulation from Brussels and major investments in the industrial policy within national capitals.”

European and American media are full of reports about divergences within the European Union. German political scientist Alexander Rahr believes the EU is clearly dividing into a “core Europe” and a kind of “secondary” union of states, with Northern Europe gravitating towards Germany and Berlin having secured London’s support in this regard. France is the leader of the other group. It all is unfolding amidst escalating disputes over defence projects, economic reforms, and relations with the US. Macron has refused to back the EU-Mercosur trade deal, which is opposed by French farmers; furthermore, the French leader has threatened to suspend joint military programmes with Germany. At the same time, unlike other European leaders, Macron has openly stated that Trump is pursuing an anti-European policy, showing contempt for the EU and seeking its fragmentation. According to Bloomberg, the French elite expects Macron’s archrival, Marine Le Pen, and her young deputy, Jordan Bardella, to win next year’s presidential election.

Has the British ‘Elite’ Ceased to be an Elite?

The escalating scandal surrounding the pedophile and sex trafficker Epstein in the US has stunned the British establishment to such an extent that the entire Labour Party spent several days anticipating the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Although he has managed to hold onto his post for now, many British newspapers assume that he will certainly have to step down this year.

Adding to the confusion within Britain’s ruling circles was a statement by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe that the UK has “been colonised by immigrants” who, he claims, are draining state resources. In an interview with Sky News, the founder of the INEOS chemicals group and co-owner of Manchester United football club said that rising immigration is one of the most critical political, social, and economic problems the country has been facing: “You can’t have an economy when 9 million people are on benefits and the flow of immigrants is over the top.”

British newspapers report that Ratcliffe has met with Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK party, and described him as an intelligent man with good intentions.

The Transatlantic Alliance’s Rift Deepens

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich conference was intended to soothe the rattled Europeans. They paid particular attention to his statement that “America does not seek to separate, but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history, and has no interest in becoming a caretaker of the West’s managed decline.”

However, the fact that Rubio, following Munich, paid his visits to Hungary and Slovakia, with both being at odds with Brussels bureaucracy, suggests that Washington is not abandoning its policy of undermining the European Union.

It is significant to pinpoint that Democratic Party representatives, who also attended the Munich conference, made an attempt to convince Europeans that Trump’s time is short. For example, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who currently looks like the most likely candidate for the 2028 presidential election, stated in a panel discussion that Trump’s policies are “temporary” and that he will inevitably be defeated in the midterm elections this November, as he “does not reflect enduring American values.”

One of the US President’s advisers, commenting on German Chancellor Merz’s meeting with Newsom, made it clear that he considered it a major mistake by the German leader and that the White House would not forget what the head of the German government did.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed in Munich that Trump had “betrayed the West.”

Recent events underscore that the disarray within the European Union is growing. Current policies have led Europe into a dead end, and contradictions among Western European leaders will continue to intensify. Unsure how to escape this political zugzwang, some politicians are even beginning to float ideas about Western European states acquiring nuclear weapons (currently only held by Britain and France). Both Germans and Poles have started discussing this possibility.

Mohammed Amer, a Syrian publicist

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