Where the f… is Europe?
Blog, 09/04/2025, by Sven Franck (en français , in Deutsch)
TL;DR - Europe is squandering momentum again to establish itself as a geopolitical actor and to use the Trump presidency to halt the rise of similar extreme right movements across member states. Oddly, it seems to be the fault of member states unwilling to advance the European project.
Stock markets around the world are in maga-red after US president Trump slapped tariffs on the world before heading to a Nero-esque weekend of golf. And while China was quick to announce quid-pro-quo tariffs, the European Union does… nothing. Business as usual?
It’s the economy, stupid!
Even if you adhere to the member state mantra of a “Europe stronger in name only”, you can’t deny that we are on economic turf, so it should be the European Union doing the talking. Else we might just as well follow Ireland not wanting to harm US tech bros and their irish investments or Germany not wanting to risk its car industry profits. We’d be exactly where Trump wants us - divided and each of us getting the short end of the stick - if any.
Doesn’t have to be. Remember Brexit? The EU played tough cookie with a country that wanted to leave our internal market and renegotiate trade deals. The US is doing the same on a global level. Are we out of cookies? Why is Europe so hush-hush? Yes, Trump literally made the ocean recede leaving the EU standing naked in all its sovereignty as our governments continue to talk the talk while their ministries purchase Microsoft and F-35s as if European alternatives didn’t exist.
It seems we have elected leaders that take solace in Europe as after-sales service to foreign dominators from the east or west - depending on respective vested interests. Having neither a vision nor ambition for a United Europe is coming back with a vengeance - abroad where we could use some of that “unity” as well as at home where we’re forced to break electoral promises. Just ask German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who vowed to not touch the constitutional debt-limit only to do so days after getting elected, his party’s popularity tanking like the stock market to tie the extreme-right. Chapeau!
Never let a good crisis go to waste
When the US put cryptography on its munitions list and strict export control in the 1970s, affected businesses just left the United States. Trade can route around stupid regulations and the US accounts for only 13% of global trade. Since the whole world is at the receiving end of Trump’s tariffs, why not create a new free trade zone without the US - together with an overhaul of the WTO to move to qualified majority decisions (take notice, EU Council…). With the value of the US greenback now depending on tweets, one could even argue for a more stable basket of reserve currencies instead of leaving all eggs (the irony) in one US basket.
The EU doesn’t have to be shy: the US would probably not even mind if Europe announced at the forthcoming United Nations Conference on financing development that it would bundle its own and member states development aid under a joint “EUAid” initiative to fill the void left by USAid being dismantled. The EU announced 800 billion euros to weaponize Europe - we’re not used to bombing ourselves to respectability, so why not make a parallel effort to build our global “soft power” by getting our 27+1 acts together under one umbrella? Ditto for Radio Free Europe, the “voice of the free world” also made speechless by the most vocal advocate for free speech.
Heck, if Europe took “Union” more seriously, we could even do wonders within our borders. Member state governments are not only playing “27+1” in development aid and defense - they also refuse to make our single market a, you guessed it, actual single market. This creates extra costs and bureaucratic burdens to business and consumers to the tune of 2.8 trillion euros - per year, mind you. Like China, we could more easily compensate for external shocks with a robust internal market - provided our leaders showed the willingness for long overdue integration.
Where is a Bauhaus when you need one?
Which brings us to the elephant in the room: the EU Commission is its usual soft and silent. Instead of initiatives or strategic moves that may yield future advantages, we stick to fancy names. European defense or cloud? Do we have to wait on the 2027 work programme with projects starting in sync with the end of Trump’s mandate? We have laws in place, like the Digital Services Act, but we’re not using them to address the political leverage other nations wield in Europe through social media. We have sensitive data to protect, but even with the legal basis of data transfers to the US in shambles, we continue exploitation-as-usual? Come on.
Don’t point your anger to Brussels just yet. Europe’s inactivity is in large part caused by member states. We have a Spitzenkandidaten process to designate the Commission President through a majority in the European Parliament. If you replace such a legitimate candidate - accountable to Parliament and ultimately to the people - with someone installed by the most influential member states, like Ursula von der Leyen, this person will always depend on the grace of her Queenmakers. Europe will not act for unity or its people, but, hey, for German car maker profits.
Speaking of elephants, member states also fail to point out that the global extreme-right is “Maga” to the bone. After still refusing the transnational answer to combat nationalism and highlighting the link between Trump and their respective extreme-right, even with a cheese-headed Musk trumpeting in their corner, you cannot help but wonder. Whether it's the AfD in Germany or LePen in France - we all have our “Supertrumps” waiting for their chance to hammer societies and evaporate wealth while dismantling democracy and institutions so you can’t do anything about it. What are member states waiting for? Can the real European Commission please stand up? And can we finally vote for new parties in all upcoming elections?