Where Is Europe Placed In The Emerging Global Geopolitics?

For rich European nations, especially the troika Germany, France and Britain, the geopolitical situation that is unfolding in the year 2026 has enough elements of an existential crisis as a result of the announcement of the US policy on global security which marginalizes the role of European nations and NATO in the overall understanding of the Trump.2 administration.

Three developments relating to the US understanding of global scenario unfolded in the last seven days indicating that Trump administration is gradually withdrawing its commitments to Europe signalling the end of the post second world war arrangement that has been continuing for the last eight decades since the end of the Second World War in 1945. These three included Trump’s interview to the prestigious magazine Politico released on December 9, the US Security Policy in Perspective released by the state department on December 4 and third was the unofficial interview given by Pentagon to Reuter. All three made clear that the Trump.2 administration has initiated vigorous steps to delink USA from Europe in terms of its dependence on security.

The most important part of the Trump interview to Politico was that Donald Trump hinted he could walk away from supporting Ukraine as he stepped up on his administration’s recent criticism of Europe, describing it as “weak” and “decaying” and claiming that Ukraine could not win the war against Russia with just Europe’s support. It was apparent that Trump was angry that on December 8, the three leaders of Germany, France and Britain talked to President Zelenskyy and assured him all support to continue the war ignoring the peace plan of Trump. To spite that view of the European tricks, the Trump interview was released the next day in which Trump asked President Zelenskyy to accept the peace plan arguing that Moscow retained the upper hand and Zelenskyy must play the ball as per US wishes and not dictated by the Europeans.

Trump said “If it keeps going the way it’s going, Europe will not be … in my opinion … many of those countries will not be viable countries any longer. Their immigration policy is a disaster. What they’re doing with immigration is a disaster. We had a disaster coming, but I was able to stop it.” The tirade against the European nations on the peace formula to end the Ukraine war, was total. It was apparent that the U.S. President was losing his patience in dealing with the obstructionist policies of the European nations which depend on the US for assistance in both economic and military areas.

While the latest interview to Politico dealt mainly on Trump’s distrust of his European allies relating to Ukraine peace plan, the US. Security paper released five days ago dealt on long term and fundamental issues regarding US relationship with Europe. Donald Trump’s administration has said Europe faces “civilisational erasure” within the next two decades as a result of migration and EU integration, arguing in the document that the US must “cultivate resistance” within the continent to “Europe’s current trajectory”.

Billed as “a roadmap to ensure America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history and the home of freedom on earth”, the US National Security Strategy makes explicit Washington’s support for Europe’s nationalist far-right parties. Already Trump is backing Far Right International body helping Reform UK of Farage in Britain, Le Pen’s party in France and AFD in Germany. But now through this document, the assistance to Far Right parties in Europe has been made as a part of US government strategy.

The document, with a signed introduction by Trump, says Europe is in economic decline but its “real problems are even deeper”, including “activities of the EU that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition … and loss of national identities”.

The 33-page exposition of Trump’s “America First” worldview appears to espouse the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, saying several countries risk becoming “majority non-European” and Europe faces “the real and stark prospect of civilisational erasure”. It adds: “Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less.”

US policies must therefore include “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations” as well as enabling Europe to “take primary responsibility for its own defence” and “opening European markets to US goods and services”.

As regards to the future of NATO, Pentagon unofficially told Reuter, that USA is readying for withdrawing most of its troops and weapons by the end of 2027. Europe has to fend for itself in protecting its own security. Pentagon also bemoans that despite warnings, the NATO member countries in general have not been taking the agreed steps to raise their defence expenditure. The US can not take additional responsibilities in NATO as it has been doing now.

In totality, all the three signify a definite trend of the US foreign and defence policy emerging in the New Year which calls for marginalization of both NATO and EDU in terms of their relationship with the USA. The issue has become more fundamental relating to the way some of the major issues including immigration and religious freedom are looked at by the developed countries. For Europe, the coming New Year will be a testing period for its alliance with the USA. (IPA Service)