From a theatrical point of view, Monday’s Washington summit between US President Donald Trump and Western Europe’s leaders was a vivid spectacle. Each official played their role, some with greater skill than others. But behind the carefully staged performance, the real story emerged: the region’s inability to act as a political entity in its own right.
Contrary to media spin, the meeting was not about Ukraine. Attempts to resolve the crisis continue, but its outcome will ultimately be decided not in Brussels or Berlin, but by non-European powers. The real lesson from Washington lay in the display of Western Europe’s dependence.
Daddy in the Oval Office
Every move by these Western European leaders was aimed at one goal: not angering the American president. In the words of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump has become “Daddy” – a figure to be placated with smiles, tributes, and flattery. Leaders compared notes on how best to manage his moods, even down to reportedly advising Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on what to wear, what to say, and how to thank him.
This might sound absurd. But that is the political reality of the transatlantic relationship. The EU no longer acts with autonomy. Its politics revolve around managing the temper of a man in Washington.
Of course, Trump’s personality is unique, but it would be a mistake to reduce the issue to character. The essence is deeper: Western Europe has suddenly realized the scale of its strategic, political and economic dependence on the United States. Put bluntly, the half-continent can do very little without America – even in matters that directly touch its own interests.
It didn’t start with Trump
This dependency did not appear overnight. Ironically, it deepened under Joe Biden. With his rhetoric of “unprecedented transatlantic solidarity,” the former president made Western Europe carry much of the political and economic burden of the conflict with Russia. The United States reaped the economic benefits, while the costs were shifted to the Old World.
Trump has simply made this arrangement overt. He openly treats the Europeans not as partners, but as tools. In his eyes, the EU exists to finance American priorities and later to handle the technical details of a post-settlement Ukraine. Western Europe’s “position” counts for little if it differs from Washington’s. The recent trade talks proved the point: negotiations went America’s way, and his guests accepted it.
The strategy of flattery
Faced with this reality, Western Europe has chosen a strategy of unrestrained flattery. Leaders believe that by praising Trump, they can slip their own disagreements into the conversation. But the approach is self-defeating. Trump regards praise not as persuasion but as recognition of self-evident truth: if you admire me, I must be right. Join me, and keep applauding.
Brussels reassures itself that this humiliation is temporary, the product of one unusual leader. When Trump leaves, normality will return. But the illusion will not last. For over two decades – since the presidency of George W. Bush – Washington has been steadily shifting its strategic focus away from Europe. This course has been consistent across parties and presidents. It will not change after Trump. And given the current willingness of EU leaders to grovel, future US presidents will expect no less.
Others stand their ground
Some argue that Western Europe’s position is no different from that of nation states dealing with America. That is misleading. Canada, for example, has taken a firm stance under its new prime minister, and Trump has eased his attacks.
Outside the Atlantic bloc, the contrast is sharper still. China, India, Brazil and South Africa have all resisted US pressure. They may compromise, but they refuse to submit. None wants a direct confrontation with America, but none accepts blackmail.
Only the EU consistently folds. It has become the undisputed champion of compliance, treating subservience as prudence.
The cost of obedience
History shows Western Europe has not always been so timid. In the early 1980s, when Soviet-American dialogue collapsed, its leaders persuaded Ronald Reagan not to interfere with their energy projects with the USSR. Why? Because it suited the EU’s own interests. That clarity of purpose is absent today.
The problem is not that Brussels simply follows America, but that Western Europe no longer knows what its own interests are. Having lost the ability – or perhaps the courage – to define them, it automatically falls in line with Washington. For the United States, this is convenient. The EU is treated as a competitor in some spheres and a resource in others, but never as a genuine partner.
Russia and the Old World
What does this mean for Russia? For now, little. The relationship is at a low ebb, and rebuilding it is a question for the distant future. Still, the lesson of history is clear: the most productive periods in Russian-EU relations came when Western Europe acted in its own interests, not as America’s appendage.
Today, that capacity has vanished. Instead, the bloc risks descending into what can only be described as a collective political neurosis. Leaders reassure themselves with illusions, while the gap between Western Europe’s ambitions and its actual autonomy grows wider. The consequences could be dangerous – for the EU itself, for its neighbors, and for the stability of the wider international order.
This article was first published by the magazine Profile and was translated and edited by the RT team.
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