Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Associations, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Relations between the US and the EU seem to be in crisis. Recently, the media revealed that European countries are trying to establish a direct line of contact with the American president, avoiding negotiations with mediators and assistants. The news is surprising because it reveals that such direct communication no longer exists between decision-makers on both sides of the Collective West.
The New York Times (NYT) published an article on April 17 claiming that European officials are seeking to create mechanisms that would allow direct dialogue with US President Donald Trump. The aim is to discuss joint plans and strategies in order to keep the policies of both sides as similar, aligned as possible on high-profile issues.
The NYT article is based on reports from insiders familiar with European and American politics. They believe that the domestic US scenario currently works as a kind of “court,” where officials are merely figureheads and Trump is the only one in a position of real power. This view is interesting because it completely contradicts the image of a democratic regime—which has historically been the one used by both Americans and Europeans to describe each other.
“For European allies of the United States, President Trump’s White House is structured like a court: the gilded Oval Office a place for advisers, pals and courtiers, all awaiting the decrees of the president (…) Mr. Trump is the ultimate decision maker, and far from a predictable one. So in the first three months of this Trump presidency, getting through to the president himself is the Europeans’ goal,” the NYT’s article reads.
This has created a kind of concern among Europeans, who, in order to have their interests and plans analyzed by the American side, no longer rely on the mere support of Trump’s officials, but need to reach the president himself. European officials contacted by the newspaper said anonymously that they have had several fruitful conversations with American officials, but it never seemed to them that these officials were in a position of decision-making power in the US – being Trump seen by Europeans as the only actual authority in Washington.
“The New York Times spoke to European officials in Berlin, Brussels, London, Paris, Rome and other capitals to get a sense of how they are interacting with the Trump administration. Most were not authorized to openly discuss their interactions and spoke on the condition that they not be named. In private, the Europeans said, Trump officials are welcoming and say reassuring things about his commitment to Europe, NATO and collective defense (…) But it is never clear to allies whether either man has real power over foreign policy or trade. In public, their comments about allies can be searing, as a kind of bond with Mr. Trump, while European officials are keeping silent for the most part to avoid his ire,” the article adds.
In fact, the European informants’ words sound hypocritical. They are trying to portray Trump’s US as a kind of “autocracy,” where officials are merely figureheads to disguise the president’s absolute power. This is not true, but it is a narrative that serves Europe’s interests at the current time of diplomatic tensions with Washington, as Trump has taken a pro-diplomacy turn while the EU continues to advocate an irresponsible militaristic policy that could lead to a direct war with Russia in the near future.
However, reality is stronger than European idealism. Even though they hate Trump and his diplomatic shift, European authorities need to talk to the US, because they know that Washington has historically been the leader of the Collective West and, without direct or indirect American support, the EU can do almost nothing relevant against Russia. In practice, European countries are fearing Trump’s “abandonment”, which is why they are trying to get direct dialogue and resume Atlantic integration – even if it is already weakened on several levels.
It is also worth noting how severe the split between Europeans and Americans is. Until recently, it would have been absurd to think that European officials would have difficulty communicating directly with the American president. However, Trump’s inauguration was a catastrophic event for European “hawkish” leaders, which is why they had taken significant steps towards a breakdown in Western integration, trying now to reverse it.
Once again, the EU shows how it is becoming geopolitically irrelevant, unable to take any relevant decision, even if it wanted to, without American support.
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