President Trump’s second coming to power in the USA has initiated cataclysmic changes in the international order, whether by Trump-Vance-Musk design or through the law of unintended consequences. In either case, the world cannot be the same when the US seems to be closer to Russia than Ukraine in the war between the latter two; Europe is left to fend for itself vis-à-vis Russia and NATO no longer seems to be a US priority; a trade war has started with tariffs being imposed by the US on its closest neighbours and partners, Canada and Mexico, as well as on China, imminently on the EU too; USAID is dismantled and the UK is cutting its international development assistance budget to fund an increase in military spending; and so on and so forth.
Shock therapy this may be but Europe has a chance to finally mature and realize its potential in response to the Trump assault. Dear leaders of EU countries and institutions, when you meet at your special summit in Brussels on 6 March, forget the US shield and backstop, forget even Washington’s subtle and not-so-subtle hints on what you should be doing in defence and foreign policy on the European continent and around the world. Time to stand on your own feet, brandish your own weapons and follow your own strategies for what is good for your people.
Think what relations the EU would like to have with China and Russia and Iran and the Arab world, with Africa and Latin America. Think of all dimensions, not just the economic one, important as it may be. Start your own AI engine, your own lunar and Mars expeditions, start even your own Oscars or elevate what is already there (next to the Eurovision contest, of course). Just don’t wait to piggyback on the US decisions on all this. In addition to safeguarding your dignity and independence, this way you may even save some money, all said and done, in the medium- to long-term. You will certainly enjoy the ride, and your people, the people of Europe, will appreciate it too.
This is not about going back to a glorious European colonial past, as some country establishments may still hope. While the UK and France may be taking the initiative to convene emergency summits, as closest interlocutors with and first respondents to the US, this cannot be the scheme that will lead to the new era. The old empires have fallen out of grace for good, certainly as far as the people that they used to dominate are concerned, so their revival in any shape or form is not an option. Consolidate the new European identity that cuts across borders, brings people together in a lovely Babel of languages, a rich diversity with unity around shared values like the sovereignty of the individual, the solidarity of the community, an economy that works for the common good and defensive strength that is used to guarantee peace.
Such a European Union could help the whole of Europe find its balance, in close cooperation with powers big and small, in an architecture of peaceful resolution of disputes, increasingly open borders, unhindered exchanges, mutual respect and support. With the EU at the centre, as the peace project that it was always meant to be, the broader Europe can consolidate peace through regular dialogues and emerging institutions that should certainly engage the UK, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. Yes, even Russia should be brought in, sooner rather than later. The end of old empires should also mean the end of old imperial vendettas that tormented Europe for so long in the past and still seem to refuse to die a dignified death.
If President Trump is right on one thing, or rather two, those are that Europe should take its future into its own hands and that peace should be made with Russia. The latter not at any cost and not against justice, but with a sincere, mutual effort to find common ground and with the humility of the grave mistakes, including unlawful invasions, previously made by all concerned, Western powers too. Let the double standards end and let the New Europe come to the world having atoned for the sins of its constituent parts and starting afresh with all the good things it can bring. The world will welcome it and global dynamics will change for good. This will be the Europe to die for and, lo and behold, you would not need to die or kill for it either!
Dr. Georgios Kostakos is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS), Founding President of sparta.komvos, and a former senior officer with the Secretariat of the United Nations
