The EU is a Colossus. So, why cringe before Trump like a mouse? |Alexander Hurst

wHo remembers a series of “introduction videos” that appeared in the first Trump administration – a series of taunt clips about European countries introducing it to Donald Trump? Viral video trend is Initiated by Dutch comedian Arjen Lubach, he ends up His market segments in the Netherlands In: “We fully understand that this will be the United States, but can we say that the Netherlands is second?” It seems that European leaders remember these videos very much. They internalize caustic information too much.

The EU is afraid of swinging ships in trade negotiations with Trump and decides to start the open space. It will cost Hundreds of billions US weapons of US dollars; instead of future climate goals, it will pour hundreds of billions of US natural gas into US dollars. Rather than reducing mutual tariffs, it is better to suffer a huge unilateral blow to EU exporters. Instead of self-esteem, humiliating and prone.

New trade “deal” Announce Trump and Ursula von Leyen left a five-year-old child last month, thinking. Why does the EU (Giant) think this is a mouse? Why just satisfy yourself with the thorns on the edge of power? Will it respect itself as much as China, and before he retreats, in line with Trump’s tariffs on Trump? Why do its politicians not know that voters want to defend their leaders, and for Mark Carney of Canada and Luizinácio Lulada Silva of Brazil, in fact, there is no reserve to get an election reward from it? Why do they ignore the lessons of these voters prioritizing identity and emotions over cold economic rationality even after Brexit?

EU Can called Trump’s bluff; the problem is, Emmanuel Macron saysthe EU is “not afraid enough”. However, its leverage far exceeds China’s impact on the US economy. If the EU is deployed Reverse lubrication instrument It can be achieved by closing the export and turning around, allowing it to end the future of the most advanced semiconductors in the United States in a plain way Trump’s $50 billion Stargate AI project Enter a ubiquitous bridge. It could eliminate the long-term U.S. technology dominance by taxing Silicon Valley behemoths, preventing their markets from entering and eliminating their intellectual property protections. It could seriously undermine the supply of Ozempic and Wegovy for Americans.

Will this spiral? There is no doubt – but, as a weaker skilled player, the EU can say that it loses less and ultimately gets more. add, Europeans hate Trump Facing a mature trade war, it may be unified, while Americans – half of them Hate Trump too – Won’t.

We tend to take the EU for granted, but we burn out anger in potential pride. The first European politician told Trump where to push it in a rough, unapologetic and very public way that would surf a wave of emotions and support that never seen before.

Is this far-fetched and unrealistic? perhaps. but everything It is far-fetched and unrealistic about Trump. Why are we willing to accept—expect, even—the shocking, shocking behavior from the United States rather than our own? The demand for surrender to Trump is the act of an entity that still believes that the United States is a willful friend who can comfort, shroud and fear, while the United States under Trump all regards and regards Europe as Europe as a weak, childish thing that can be manipulated and exploited. Well, congratulations, Europe proved that – almost everyone ensured Trump and his comrades would return for the second round of ransom demands and threats. In fact, they have already joined U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick Comply with EU technical regulations Follow the transaction.

Europe may not like it, but the world has changed. In this new era, Russia, China and the United States all hope to return to the rules of influence and power, instead of the rule of law, but the appetite for chaos (Russia) is different from stable (China). In this blurry picture, Trump is a genius who turns emotions to his purpose, but he is also deeply ignorant, intellectually inconsistent, and follows the mafia-style instinct of how to exert his power, which ultimately leads to it destroying it faster.

The EU is the only important force in a world that complies with the rule of law. That doesn’t mean it’s The only one The actors who want this – it joins with the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and especially in terms of climate, especially in many other countries that Brazil may lead.

But, for decades, Europe has been fascinated by the story of the American spinning. As a result, it is now trapping in an American, spinning a dark story. That’s a bad place in Europe. Not only economically but also geopolitical, because it relies on the United States (and fears Trump will put Ukraine deep) makes it a hypocritical, related to possible global partner: the reluctance to uphold international law to oppose Benjamin Netanyahu’s racial discrimination in Gaza, while also rightly admonishing it in response to vladimir puttent.

Europeans will have to ask themselves that there is an imminent turning point, or maybe just arrived, what is the purpose of the EU forever entrusting the EU, can give half the measures, choose the lowest common ground in its internal zones, and then repeatedly suppress it? The far-right nationalists have an answer: there is no real alliance at all, and a future of debris and endless quarrels about the irrelevant world.

What is the answer for the federalists? It’s not only a good intellectual exercise. I don’t want to live in a world where invaders seize the land when they need it, where genocide is not organized, where the climate crisis is out of control, and where the far-right dictatorship takes root.

The answer must be that the EU begins to truly believe in itself, not such a clever narrative in the United States. This means being fascinated by per capita GDP as a measure of prosperity. This means that the climate crisis is used as the backdrop in every economic discussion, and the reason is that it doesn’t make sense to not mention nutritional labels with sugar content. European-based economic activities are The least carbon-intensive type in the world;The World Trade Organization has been broken, so why not take the EU’s existing emissions trading system as a starting point to reorganize global trade (not included in carbon) in the willing and unwilling carbon?

This means deletion Complaints from the far right The country “remits money to the EU” by replacing state contributions at the common corporate tax rate of its members Wealth Tax and Big technical tax. This means overcoming internal allergies to spending insignificant international money, as almost every EU doesn’t feel that the U.S. field boils down to willingness to spend. The EU is jealous of the big American tech companies, but there are no secret seasonings here besides investment. Take space as an example, here, the United States once again dominates. When NASA’s 2023 budget is US$25 billion and European Space Agency It’s 7 billion euros? Instead, it is time to launch a budget worthy of real geopolitical power and invest in long-term economic, environmental and political success.

Finally, it means copying one thing from “Trump Script: DGAF”. Or, for the Guardian’s polite page, “care less.” Just like that, if a Von der Leyen spokesperson was reading this, the next time you hold a press conference, you might shoot all the public criticism: “The President of the European Commission may not be a great negotiator, but at least she is not a sexual predator or convicted criminal.”