European Union Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius has said the bloc should consider establishing a standing military force of 100,000 troops and overhaul the political processes governing defense. Faced with Russian aggression and the U.S. shifting its focus away from Europe and threatening Greenland, Kubilius argued for a “big bang” approach to re-imagining Europe’s common defense. “Would the United States be militarily stronger if they would have 50 armies on the States level instead of a single federal army,” he said at a Swedish security conference on Sunday. “Fifty state defence policies and defense budgets on the states level, instead of a single federal defense policy and budget?” “If our answer is ‘no,’ [the] USA would not be stronger, then — what are we waiting for?” Kubilius said Europe’s defense readiness depends on three pillars: more investment in production capacity; institutions that are prepared and organization; and the political will to deter and, if needed, fight. Merely increasing funding for Europe’s existing defense setup won’t meet these requirements, he said, in part because of a lack of unity. Andrius Kubilius said Europe’s defense readiness depends on more investment in production, institutions that are prepared and the political will to deter and, if needed, fight. | Antonio Pedro Santos/EPA “We need to start to invest our money in such a way, that we would be able to fight as Europe, not just as collection of 27 national ‘bonsai armies’,” he said, borrowing a phrase from former EU High Representative Josep Borrell. Europe could instead create — “as Jean-Claude Juncker, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel already proposed 10 years ago” a powerful, standing “European military force” of 100,000 troops, he said. To help solve the issue of political will, Kubilius wants to establish a European Security Council. The idea has been talked up by French President Macron and former German Chancellor Merkel. “The European Security Council could be composed of key permanent members, along with several rotational members, including the member state with the Council presidency,” said Kubilius. “Plus the leadership of the EU: Commission and Council presidents.” The proposed security council should also include the United Kingdom, Kubilius said. “In total around 10-12 members, with the task to discuss the most important issues in defense, some of which I just mentioned before,” Kubilius said. “And not only discussing, but also swiftly preparing important decisions.”

BRUSSELS — The EU and Mercosur will sign their long-awaited trade agreement on Saturday, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveling to Paraguay on Jan. 17 for the signing ceremony. Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier confirmed von der Leyen’s travel plans to POLITICO. She will be joined by European Council President António Costa, his cabinet confirmed. The trip comes after a majority of EU member countries on Friday voted in favor of signing the deal. The EU-Mercosur deal is set to create the world’s largest free-trade area, covering some 700 million people. From Brussels’ perspective, the agreement is a major geopolitical win in light of China’s rising share in trade and influence in Latin America and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Aside from Paraguay, the Mercosur bloc consists of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

Former U.K. Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson said continuing his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was “a most terrible mistake,” but he declined to offer a direct apology to Epstein’s victims in his first interview since being fired from his post. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Mandelson said he regretted believing Epstein’s account after the financier’s 2008 conviction and described his continued association with Epstein as “misplaced loyalty.” However, he said he would not personally apologize to victims, arguing that responsibility lay with a wider system that failed to protect them. “I want to apologise for a system that refused to hear their voices and did not give them the protection they were entitled to expect,” Mandelson said. “That system gave him protection and not them.” In the interview, Mandelson also said he never witnessed inappropriate behavior while spending time with Epstein and claimed he was “kept separate” from Epstein’s sexual activities because he is gay. U.K. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said Mandelson’s refusal to apologize directly to victims was a missed opportunity. “It would have gone a long way for Peter to have apologized to the victims,” she said, adding that she would not have maintained contact with someone in Epstein’s position. Mandelson was dismissed as ambassador in September 2025 after emails emerged showing he sent supportive messages to Epstein following his conviction for soliciting a minor. Mandelson said during the BBC interview that the emails were a “shock” and that he no longer possessed them at the time of his appointment. Asked whether he deserved to be fired, Mandelson said he understood the decision and had no intention of reopening the issue.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Europe had barely switched off its out-of-office replies before geopolitics came roaring back. In the first days of January, events in Caracas — and rhetoric from Washington — jolted Brussels out of its post-holiday slumber and straight back into crisis mode. A U.S. special forces operation captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and left more than 100 people dead, reopening old questions about power, sovereignty and just how reliable an ally the United States really is. This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton is joined by Allison Hoffman, Nick Vinocur, Eva Hartog and Bartosz Brzeziński to unpack what Donald Trump’s moves in Venezuela reveal about the world he’s shaping — and the uncomfortable position they leave Europe in. They dig into Moscow’s humiliation — and the opportunities it may see in chaos — renewed U.S. pressure over Greenland, Europe’s mounting doubts about American security guarantees for Ukraine, and how Brussels is trying to navigate a world where raw power seems to be back in fashion.

Answer these questions to find out whether you’re a true politics geek or just a casual follower of European affairs. <p>EU plans to ban the use of words such as ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’ for plant-based foods were opposed by which famous musician?</p> * Paul McCartney * Taylor Swift * David Guetta <p>The Brussels region’s caretaker government asked EU institutions to cough up extra money to cover the ballooning costs of which project?</p> * Metro line 3 * Kanal art museum * Schuman roundabout <p>EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner was declared “persona non grata” and ordered to leave which country?</p> * Morocca * Lybia * Eritrea <p>Martin Selmayr, the civil servant known as the “Monster of the Berlaymont”, was rumored to be returning to Brussels. It didn’t happen, but which institution was he supposed to be coming to work for?</p> * European Commission * European External Action Service * Council of the European Union <p>The EU ended the year with a marathon summit focused on providing funding for Ukraine. How many hours did it last?</p> * 12 * 14 * 16 <p>George Simion, the firebrand who lost Romania’s presidential election in May, gained prominence in 2019 for a dispute with the country’s Hungarian minority. What did that clash center on?</p> * A Transylvanian castle * A Transylvanian graveyard * A Transylvanian church <p>Romanian warlord Horațiu Potra was taken into custody this year over an alleged coup plot. Where did hundreds of his mercenaries have to surrender earlier in the year?</p> * Congo * Mali * Niger <p>Nationalist boxing enthusiast Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s presidential election on June 1. How did he describe his past, taking part in pre-arranged fist fights with football hooligans?</p> * My wild, misspent youth * Sporting, noble fights * Just a bit of fun <p>Greece’s government has been rocked by a massive scandal over fraud involving EU farm funds. What is the name to given to one of the key personalities in the investigative files?</p> * Souvlaki (Meat Skewer) * Frappé (Iced Coffee) * Ouzaki (Little glass of ouzo) <p>Rome has finally given the green light to build the world’s biggest suspension bridge between Sicily and mainland Italy. What’s the price tag?</p> * €40 billion * €13.5 billion * €8.2 billion <p>Who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize?</p> * Donald Trump * Yuliya Navalnaya * María Corina Machado <p>What happened to Canada’s conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on election night in April?</p> * He was egged by a protester * He lost his seat * Donald Trump called him “weird” <p>Which senior Russian official wore a “USSR” sweater when arriving in Alaska for U.S.-hosted peace talks about the Ukraine war?</p> * Sergey Lavrov * Vladimir Putin * Kirill Dmitriev <p>Sanae Takaichi became prime minister of Japan in October. Which political party is she a member of?</p> * Liberal Democratic Party * Constitutional Democratic Party * Japan Innovation Party <p>What happened in Kathmandu in September?</p> * The Nepalese government announced that Mt. Everest had shrunk by 7 meters * Donald Trump signed a deal to extract rare earths from the Himalayan foothills * Gen Z-led protests toppled the prime minister <p>Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York mayoral election in November. Which European football club does he support?</p> * Arsenal * FC Barcelona * Paris Saint-Germain <p>Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September. In which U.S. state was he speaking when a gunman shot him?</p> * Nevada * Arizona * Utah <p>What percentage tariffs did Donald Trump slap on the penguin-inhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands during April’s so-called Liberation Day?</p> * 10 percent * 39 percent * 75 percent <p>A prominent journalist was added to a U.S. government Signal group chat about bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen. Who was ousted as Trump’s national security adviser not long after the fiasco?</p> * Dan Caldwell * Mike Waltz * Chris Landau <p>Inauguration Day in January was a major celebration for Trump’s team. But why did Elon Musk court controversy?</p> * Appearing to give a Nazi salute * Snorting coke in the White House bathroom * Trying to obtain the nuclear launch codes <p>Which one of these did President Emmanuel Macron say during an artificial intelligence summit in February?</p> * “Let us Make AI Great Again” * “Plug, baby, plug” * “Elon who?” <p>How long did Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s first government last?</p> * 23 hours * 17 hours * 14 hours <p>What did Brigitte Macron call feminist protesters backstage at a comedy show?</p> * Heros * Role models * Stupid bitches <p>Which member of François Bayrou’s family admitted to being a victim of abuse in a scandal that ensnared the then-prime minister?</p> * His son * His daughter * His niece <p>Former President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote a 216-page prison memoir after spending less than three weeks behind bars. Which food did he complain about in his tell-all?</p> * A soggy baguette * Steak au poivre without bernaise sauce * The cheap wine served <p>Which prominent German politician pilots a Diamond 62A twin-engine aircraft?</p> * Boris Pistorius * Katherina Reiche * Friedrich Merz <p>Russian propagandists attacked Friedrich Merz in a fake news campaign this year. What did they accuse him of doing?</p> * Shooting a mommy polar bear and cubs in Canada * Shooting a mommy giraffe and calves in Kenya * Shooting a mommy tiger and cubs in India <p>German liberal leader Christian Lindner quit politics in February. What is he doing now?</p> * He went to work for Deutsche Bank * He went to work for the Autoland car dealership * He went to work for Porsche <p>Which of these claims was <u>not</u> made in a podcast between Elon Musk and Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany?</p> * Hitler was a communist * Vegetarianism should be illegal * Dinosaurs died out because they didn’t have spaceships <p>Former Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner took over as Bundestag president in March. What was her claim to fame 30 years earlier?</p> * She was Germany’s Sauerkraut Queen * She was Germany’s White Asparagus Queen * She was Germany’s Wine Queen <p>Which U.K. high-flyer was said to "practice a stringent, highly controlled, egg-based diet"?</p> * New U.S. ambassador Christian Turner * Prime Minister Keir Starmer * Lord High Chancellor Eggbert Nobacon <p>Britain's new Green party leader Zack Polanski faced scrutiny this year over which of the following?</p> * His previous membership of Nigel Farage's Reform UK * A claim when he was a hypnotherapist that he could enlarge women's breasts with his mind * An expletive laden attack on "f**king wooden plank" Keir Starmer at a party conference rally <p>Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss launched her own YouTube show this year. What was the tagline?</p> * Lettuce Take Our Country Back * The Home of the Counter-Revolution * The Fightback Starts Now <p>UK leader Keir Starmer described himself as what, in a bid to show he was fighting for working people?</p> * A rocksolid geezer * A bareknuckle warrior * A hard bastard <p>Why did then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy get into hot water while hanging out with JD Vance this year?</p> * Lammy failed to obtain a fishing license while the pair indulged in a chummy angling photo op * Vance mistakenly phoned Donald Trump from his pocket while Lammy was midway through slagging the US president off * Lammy's European flag arm tattoo offended the Vances when it was accidentally revealed over dinner <p>Russian athletes have been largely banned from international competitions since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started. Which sport welcomed them back in November?</p> * Taekwondo * Karate * Judo <p>Donald Trump won the inaugural FIFA peace prize and was awarded a medal at the World Cup draw. Who placed it around his neck?</p> * Gianni Infantino * Bob Geldof * Donald Trump <p>Europe beat the United States at a bad-blooded Ryder Cup in September. Which EU commissioner turned up to watch a day of golf in New York?</p> * Michael McGrath * Glenn Micallef * Dan Jørgensen <p>Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain won the UEFA Champions League for the first time. What was the score against Inter Milan in the final?</p> * 1-0 * 4-1 * 5-0 <p>Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in the U.S. Open tennis final at Flushing Meadows. Which company entertained Trump as a guest in their corporate box for the match?&nbsp;</p> * Emirates * Rolex * JP Morgan <p>Which band caused an outcry when they chanted “death to the IDF” at Glastonbury Festival?</p> * Kneecap * Bob Vylan * Coldplay <p>How many minutes did it take for thieves to steal an estimated €88 million of jewels from the Louvre?</p> * 7 * 17 * 47 <p>Who won the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature?</p> * László Krasznahorkai * Margaret Atwood * Donald Trump <p>Which of these countries has not said it will boycott Eurovision after Israel was cleared to compete in the 2026 contest?</p> * Slovenia * Croatia * Spain <p>Which former EU commissioner now has a range of shoes named after them, and modelled them for adverts?</p> * Margrethe Vestager * Věra Jourová * Thierry Breton <p>"We must … reach for the most modern capabilities also related to nuclear weapons and modern unconventional weapons … this is a race for security."</p> * South Korean President Lee Jae-myung * North Korean leader Kim Jong Un * Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk <p>“Across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat.”</p> * Nigel Farage * JD Vance * Elon Musk <p>To whom did Donald Trump say: “Where did you get that tan? I want to get a tan like that.”</p> * French President Emmanuel Macron * German Chancellor Friedrich Merz * European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde <p>“We risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together."</p> * Nigel Farage * Tommy Robinson * Keir Starmer <p>“I am not Trump, I am actually very nice.”</p> * Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever * Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof * Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre

BRUSSELS — European leaders like Romania’s Nicușor Dan spent most of 2025 trying to work out how to live with Donald Trump. Or — even worse — without him. Since the great disruptor of international norms returned to the White House in January, he has made clear just how little he really cares for Europe — some of his key lieutenants are plainly hostile.  The U.S. president slashed financial and military aid to Ukraine, hit the European Union with tariffs, and attacked its leaders as “weak.” His administration is now on a mission to intervene in Europe’s democracy to back “patriotic” parties and shift politics toward MAGA’s anti-migrant goals.  For leaders such as Romania’s moderate president, the dilemma is always how far to accept Trump’s priorities — because Europe still needs America — and how strongly to resist his hostility to centrist European values. Does a true alliance even still exist across the Atlantic? “The world [has] changed,” Dan said in an interview from his top-floor Brussels hotel suite. “We shifted from a — in some sense — moral way of doing things to a very pragmatic and economical way of doing things.” EU leaders understand this, he said, and now focus their attention on developing practical strategies for handling the new reality of Trump’s world. Centrists will need to factor in a concerted drive from Americans to back their populist opponents on the right as the United States seeks to change Europe’s direction. Administration officials such as Vice President JD Vance condemned last year’s canceled election in Romania and the new White House National Security Strategy suggests the U.S. will seek to bend European politics to its anti-migrant MAGA agenda. For Dan, it is “OK” for U.S. politicians to express their opinions. But it would be a “problem” if the U.S. tried to “influence” politics “undemocratically” — for example, by paying media inside European countries “like the Russians are doing.” WEAK EUROPEANS Relations with America are critical for a country like Romania, which, unusually, remained open to the West during four decades of communist rule. On the EU’s eastern edge, bordering Ukraine, Romania is home to a major NATO base — soon to be Europe’s biggest — as well as an American ballistic missile defense site. But the Trump administration has announced the withdrawal of 800 American troops from Romania, triggering concern in Bucharest. As winter sun streamed in through the window, Dan argued that Europe and the U.S. are natural allies because they share more values than other regions of the world. He thought “a proper partnership” will be possible — “in the medium [term] future.” But for now, “we are in some sense of a transition period in which we have to understand better each other.” Dan’s frank assessment reveals the extent of the damage that has been done to the transatlantic alliance this year. Trump has injected jeopardy into all aspects of the Western alliance — even restoring relations with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.  At times, Europeans have been at a loss over how to respond.  Does Dan believe Trump had a point when he told POLITICO this month that European leaders were “weak”?  “Yes,” Dan said, there is “some” truth in Trump’s assessment. Europe can be too slow to make decisions. For example, it took months of argument and a fraught summit in Brussels last week that ended at 3 a.m. to agree on a way to fund Ukraine. But — crucially — even a fractious EU did eventually take “the important decision,” he said. That decision to borrow €90 billion in joint EU debt for a loan for cash-strapped Kyiv will keep Ukraine in the fight against Putin for the next two years.  WAITING FOR PEACE According to EU leaders who support the plan (Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia won’t take part), it makes a peace deal more likely because it sends a signal to Putin that Ukraine won’t just collapse if he waits long enough. But Dan believes the end of the war remains some way off, despite Trump’s push for a ceasefire.  “I am more pessimistic than optimistic on short term,” he said. Putin’s side does not appear to want peace: “They think a peace in two, three months from now will be better for them than peace now. So they will fight more — because they have some small progress on the field.”  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at last week’s European Council summit that he wanted Trump to put more pressure on Putin to agree to a ceasefire. Does Dan agree? “Of course. We are supporting Ukraine.” But Trump’s “extremely powerful” recent sanctions on Russian oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil are already helping, Dan said. He also welcomed Trump’s commitment to peace, and America’s new openness to providing security guarantees to bolster a final deal.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at last week’s European Council summit that he wanted Trump to put more pressure on Putin to agree to a ceasefire. Does Dan agree? “Of course. We are supporting Ukraine.” | Olivier Hoslet/EPA It is clear that Dan hopes Putin doesn’t get the whole of Donbas in eastern Ukraine, but he doesn’t want to tie Zelenskyy’s hands. “Any kind of peace in which the aggressor is rewarded in some sense is not good for Europe and for the future security of the world,” Dan said. “But the decision for the peace is just on the Ukrainian shoulders. They suffer so much, so we cannot blame them for any decision they will do.” Romania plays a critical role as an operational hub for transferring supplies to neighboring Ukraine. With its Black Sea port of Constanța, the country will be vital to future peacekeeping operations. Ukrainian soldiers are training in Romania and it is already working with Bulgaria and Turkey to demine the Black Sea, Dan said.  Meanwhile, Russian drones have breached Romanian airspace more than a dozen times since the start of the full-scale war, and a village on the border with Ukraine had to be evacuated recently when drones set fire to a tanker ship containing gas. Dan played down the threat.  “We had some drones. We are sure they have not intentionally [been] sent on our territory,” he said. “We try to say to our people that they are not at all in danger.” Still, Romania is boosting its military spending to deter Russia all the same. CORRUPTION AND A CRISIS OF FAITH Dan, 56, won the presidency in May this year at a tense moment for the country of 19 million people. The moderate former mayor of Bucharest defeated his populist, Ukraine-skeptic opponent against the odds. The vote was a rerun, after the first attempt to hold a presidential election was canceled last December over allegations of massive Russian interference and unlawful activity in support of the far-right front-runner Călin Georgescu. Legal cases are underway, including charges against Georgescu and others over an alleged coup plot. But for many Romanians, the cancelation of the 2024 election merely reinforced their cynicism toward the entire democratic system in their country. They wanted change and almost half the electorate backed the far right to deliver it.  Corruption today remains a major problem in Romania and Dan made it his mission to restore voters’ faith. In his first six months, however, he prioritized painful and unpopular public-sector spending cuts to bring the budget deficit — which was the EU’s biggest — under control. “On the big problems of society, starting with corruption, we didn’t do much,” Dan confessed. That, he said, will change. A recent TV documentary about alleged corruption in the judiciary provoked street demonstrations and a protest letter signed by hundreds of judges. Dan is due to meet them this week and will then work on legislative reforms focused on making sure the best magistrates are promoted on merit rather than because of who they know. “People at the top are working for small networks of interests, instead of the public good,” Dan said. But for many Romanians, the cancellation of the 2024 election merely reinforced their cynicism toward the entire democratic system in their country. | Robert Ghement/EPA He was also clear that the state has not yet done enough to explain to voters why the election last year was canceled. More detail will come in a report expected in the next two months, he said. RUSSIAN MEDDLING One thing that is now obvious is that Russia’s attack on Romanian democracy, including through a vast TikTok influence campaign, was not isolated. Dan said his country has been a target for Moscow for a decade, and other European leaders tell him they now suffer the same disinformation campaigns, as well as sabotage. Nobody has an answer to the torrent of fake news online, he said. “I just have talks with leaders for countries that are more advanced than us and I think nobody has a complete answer,” he said. “If you have that kind of information and that information arrived to half a million people, even if you’re coming the next day saying that it was false, you have lost already.” The far-right populist Alliance for the Union of Romanians party is ahead in the polls on about 40 percent, mirroring the pattern elsewhere in Europe. Dan, who beat AUR leader George Simion in May, believes his own team must get closer to the people to defeat populism. And he wishes that national politicians around Europe would stop blaming all their unpopular policies on Brussels because that merely fuels populist causes. Dan said he has learned that EU politics is in fact a democratic process, in which different member countries bring their own ideas forward. “With my six months’ experience, I can say that it’s quite a debate,” he said. “There is not a bureaucratic master that’s arranging things. It’s a democracy. It’s a pity that the people do not feel that directly.” But what about those marathon EU summits that keep everyone working well beyond midnight? “The topics are well chosen,” Dan said. “But I think the debates are a little bit too long.”

France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart may be heading for bilateral talks on Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin “expressed readiness to engage in dialogue” with Macron on the issue, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, according to media reports. The Elysée responded positively. “It is welcome that the Kremlin has publicly agreed to this approach. We will decide in the coming days on the best way to proceed,” the French presidency said. Macron said at last week’s EU summit in Brussels that it would be “useful” for Europe to reach out to Putin to ensure that a peace deal in Ukraine is not negotiated solely by the United States, Russia and Ukraine. “I think that we Europeans and Ukrainians need to find a framework to engage a discussion in due form,” Macron told reporters as the summit wrapped up early Friday morning. The Elysée stressed that any talks with Russia would take place in “full transparency” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies, Le Monde reported. Macron and Putin have rarely been in direct contact since Moscow launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Their most recent phone communication was in July, following about three years of no contact.

FORGET THE FAR RIGHT. THE KIDS WANT A ‘UNITED STATES OF EUROPE.’  On social media, the upcoming generation is expressing more European solidarity than the continent has seen in decades. By NICHOLAS VINCOUR Illustration by Joanne Joo for POLITICO A futuristic EU soldier stands guard, laser blaster at the ready. European fighter jets zoom through the sky over thumping Eurodance beats. An imaginary map shows a vastly enlarged EU, swallowing everything from Greenland to the Caucasus.  Welcome to the wild world of pro-Europe online propaganda, where the EU isn’t a fractious club of 27 countries but a juiced-up superpower on par with China or the United States, only wiser and more cultured.  This type of content, which re-imagines the EU as a pan-European empire, a European Federation or the United States of Europe — take your pick — has flooded social media platforms over the past two years, garnering billions of views collectively on X, TikTok and Instagram as the EU has reeled from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a U.S.-EU trade deal decried as “humiliation” for Brussels in many parts of Europe. In the face of withering attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump, who called European leaders “weak” in an interview with POLITICO, as well as anti-EU tirades from X owner Elon Musk, such pro-EU memes are flowing thicker and faster than ever. Its mainstays are Soviet-style propaganda posters featuring the EU’s ring of stars emblem, video montages with soaring drone shots of European monuments and memes where the EU’s strengths — from its laid-back work culture to rich cultural heritage — are favorably compared to other parts of the world, namely Donald Trump’s America.  Scrolling through these posts, it can be tempting to shrug off the entire trend as meaningless “AI slopaganda” (AI-generated content does loom large). Indeed the hyper-confident Europe envisioned by accounts with names like “European propagandist” or “Ave Europa” bears little resemblance to the actual EU, where leaders remain divided over everything from how to finance Ukraine’s war next year to what reforms should be undertaken to reverse a long trend of economic decline.  But for the people behind these accounts, the point isn’t to stick too closely to the day-to-day reality of EU politics. It’s to generate a sense of agency, vision and possibility at a time when bullying from Trump, expansionism from Russia and competition between U.S. and China have left young Europeans feeling powerless. POLITICO reached out to 11 of the users behind the accounts and learned that they were real people with widely differing political views ranging from left-wing to the hard-right, and used different terms to describe where they stood on Europe. Some called their beliefs “Eurofed,” short for European federalist. Others described themselves as pan-European imperialist, emphasizing the notion of a European “civilization” to defend rather than any existing political setup.   One thing they all had in common: They were under the age of 35. “People are looking to escape powerlessness… to regain action and sovereignty and act on things,” said Christelle Savall, president of the Young Federalists Association Europe, a non-profit advocacy group that has existed since 1972 but has recently seen a surge in membership  For years, Europe’s dominant political narrative has been that the far right is ascendant and the only question is how much further it will rise and how much more it will corrode the eighty-year-old project that grew out of the ashes of World War II to become the European Union. These online warriors believe that is flat-out wrong and that the future lies with a stronger Europe, a view reflected in a growing swell of opinion in the real world. Just as the MAGA online movement mirrored and fueled the rise of Trump before the 2016 presidential election, Europe’s online glowup is reflected in polls showing support for the EU at an all-time high.   Strong majorities of Europeans across all age groups now favor more deeply integrated security and defense, according to the 2025 Eurobarometer survey. Another poll across nine European countries showed that most Germans — 69 percent — favor the creation of an EU army, a prospect often scoffed at by sitting leaders as a pipe dream.  And there are hints that, far from existing in an online vacuum, this youth-driven burst in pro-EU feelings can also help to win elections. Rob Jettens, the 38-year-old centrist who recently won the most votes in Dutch elections, is one of the gang as far as some young federalists are concerned. A pan-European party called Volt Europa, which defines itself as centrist or center-left, has grown its footprint significantly since its launch in 2017, including a foothold in the European Parliament.  “The center right Eurofed group is more and more turning from an online phenomenon to a real-life movement… They try to create something akin to a centrist to right-wing alternative to Volt,” wrote the holder of the X account European Challenges, who described himself as a 25–35-year-old STEM graduate in high-tech. I agreed to grant him anonymity due to concern about being “doxxed” or harassed by other social media users and not wanting users to focus on his nationality, which would be evident from his name.  For Joseph de Weck, a foreign policy analyst and author of a biography on French President Emmanuel Macron, this surge in youthful patriotism is being missed by leaders and many media outlets who are obsessively focused on the far-right. “It’s a fundamental mistake… Public opinion has changed,” he said.   The reality, he argues, is that Europe’s far-right itself is no longer, for the most part, anti-European but merely critical of certain policies emanating from Brussels, like its push for net zero carbon emissions. The big political fight in coming years won’t be over whether to dismantle the European Union, he argues, but over which version of a more federalist bloc will prevail. “No one is putting into question the existence of the EU anymore, but they fundamentally disagree [on] what they should do,” he added.  A FRAGILE UNION  The idea that Europe — ground zero for two world wars — should abolish national borders and form up into a unified polity isn’t new. In 1849, speaking to the International Peace Congress in Paris, French author Victor Hugo predicted that “a day will come when you France, you Russia, you Italy, you England, you Germany, you all, nations of the continent, without losing your distinct qualities and your glorious individuality will be merged closely within a superior unit and you will form the European brotherhood.”   That idea was forgotten at the outset of a 20th century marked by savage nationalism. But it reemerged forcefully in the aftermath of World War II, when a group of European countries formed the European Economic Community in 1957. Six years later, in a speech to the Irish Dáil, former U.S. President John F. Kennedy called for a “United States of Europe,” urging leaders to form a “political federation of Europe, not as a rival to the United States but as a partner.”  In subsequent decades the European Union, which was formally created in 1992, massively expanded its membership to 28 countries and more than 500 million citizens, and even after Brexit it has 27 countries and 450 million citizens. The union made the huge leap of abolishing border controls between some countries in 1995, introduced a single currency, the euro, in 1999, and over time created the Schengen free travel zone.   But that’s about as far as things got. Kennedy’s vision of a “United States of Europe” ran headlong into the nationalism of leaders like France’s Charles de Gaulle, who famously poured cold water on the prospect of a European federalism. “States, once created, have their own existence that cannot be dissolved. They are irreversibly individual,” he wrote in his “Memoir of Hope” published in 1970.  A group of young girls sit in the European Parliament chamber in Brussels. | Michael Currie/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images While endorsing expansion, European leaders have consistently resisted taking any steps that would turn the EU into a real federation — namely an integrated army and a fiscal transfer union where tax resources are seamlessly redistributed. Even after the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw EU capitals centralize aspects of health policy in Brussels, and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has led to some centralization of defense policy, the mood that now prevails among Europe’s leaders is one of “euro-realism” — code for, don’t try anything crazy, it will only help the far-right.   Even Macron, who swept to power in 2017 in France with a staunchly pro-European campaign, seems to have given in to the prevailing mood.  Mario Draghi, a former Italian prime minister and ex-central bank chief whom many federalists hold up as their mascot, has acknowledged as much. Given widespread reluctance to rock the boat, he argued in an October speech that Europe should embrace “pragmatic federalism,” i.e. coalitions of like-minded countries acting in concert on specific areas of interest instead of any big leaps forward.  Czechia’s outgoing foreign minister, Jan Lipavsky, described the current attitude among EU leaders as “not idealistic” in a recent POLITICO interview. A few days later, Belgium’s defense minister brushed off the idea of a European army. “Anyone who believes in a European army is selling castles in the air,” he told local outlet Humo.  REDDIT SUB-GROUP BATTLES   Yet it so happens that castles in the air — i.e. big jumps forward — is exactly what Europe’s young boosters want, and they’re tired of hearing that they’re too idealistic. “A direct election of the commission president… is absolutely necessary. As long as that doesn’t happen, the EU will not get more trust,” the European Challenges account holder wrote to me in a DM.  Savall says young Europeans yearn for politicians who can articulate a strategic view of where Europe is headed, rather than fighting out the domestic political battle of the day. “There’s long-term [vision], but no one is selling it,” she said, noting that membership in her group grew 6 percent in 2024 to 10,000. In October, with other pro-federalist groups, it relaunched the Action Committee for a United States of Europe which had been dormant for decades. A key driver for new adherents was the EU-U.S. trade deal inked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, which was widely panned as a humiliation for the bloc. “It was disappointing because Europe’s power was its trade mandate. Soft power was commerce,” said Savall.  Other pro-federalist or pan-European groups report a similar jump in membership. Membership in Ave Europa, a federalist group founded in March of this year which describes itself as “center-right”, has gained 400–500 members since its launch. Board member Nikodem Skrobisz wrote that the tense Oval Office meeting last February between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump, in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated their guest, had spurred the group’s launch. “A wave of Europatriotism swept the continent in defiance to the Trumpist attempts to humiliate our continent,” he wrote in a message to me. “The subsequent trade and tariff disputes further demonstrated that Europe can no longer rely on others to defend its interests; and with every MAGA attack against Europe, we saw a new wave of recruits boost our ranks.”   Not all pro-Europeans share the same roadmap, however. “I think the term ‘European federalism’ is just misplaced for this day and age… Europe will probably head towards greater centralization and will more closely resemble a confederation of some sorts,” said Alex Asgari, a Czech-American 25-year-old lobbyist in Washington, D.C., who previously worked as a Republican aide in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Indeed, federalists are far from being a politically homogenous group. Several meme warriors told me that there is an ideological battle ongoing in the dank recesses of federalist Reddit subgroups and chatrooms between broadly centrist people who believe in boosting the power of existing Brussels institutions, and far-right people who hate Brussels but nonetheless want Europe to assert itself on the world stage. The big divider is identity politics and migration policy: far-right groups tend to envision Europe as a culturally and ethnically homogenous “empire” — read, white and Christian, preferably Catholic — that keeps foreigners out.  “I limit potential membership to countries that have a Latin-European model of social life… only a Civilisationally homogeneous state has the right to function stably,” said the user of an account named Sacrum Imperium, a 30-year-old law student whom I agreed not to identify by name because they said expressing political views in public could be detrimental to their career. The user also voiced skepticism about Brussels, advocating limited competences for EU institutions. “The optimal division of competences… should provide for tasks at European level only those that are necessary and cannot be carried out at national level,” they added.  EUROPE OR BUST   For de Weck, the point is not that these young Europeans don’t see eye to eye, but that their frame of reference is Europe — not the domestic political debate of France, Germany or any other EU member country. This marks a profound shift compared to 2016, when Britain’s vote to leave the European Union was widely seen as heralding other EU exits, and euroskeptic politicians ranging from France’s Marine Le Pen to Austria’s Sebastian Kurk and the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders dominated headlines.  Indeed, a big factor linking pro-Europe online users is their youth. With all reporting their age as under 35, these Europeans may or may not have witnessed the last big surge of euro-idealism around the turn of the century, when the euro currency was introduced in several countries and the overtly pro-EU movie “The Spanish Apartment” (L’Auberge Espagnole” originally) promoted Europe’s Erasmus student program as an ideal way to find love. But they have all been through what came after this period of optimism: terrorism, a surge in migration, the rise of far-right parties across Europe and, more recently, Russia’s aggressive expansionism and the collapse of a U.S.-led post-World War II order.   A giant EU flag is unfurled during Europe Day celebrations in Milan in May. | Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images Such upheavals, combined with other problems — like grinding economic decline and an ageing population — have painted Europe as a victim, or at least a losing party, in the minds of many youths. It’s a feeling that these people are rebelling against — and one that may well fuel the rise of a new generation of much more Europe-minded, if not overtly federalist, politicians in coming years.  For now, it’s still populists and their favorite rivals, centrists such as France’s Macron, who continue to occupy headlines. In the past decade hard-right leaders have won elections, becoming prime ministers in Austria and Italy, or political kingmakers, as was the case with Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders in 2023. The prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, has been in power since 2010, positioning himself as an arch-opponent of Brussels-based EU institutions.  But the reality is that, unlike in 2016 when Europe feared a wave of Brexit-style “-exits,” none of these leaders now advocates pulling their country out of the bloc. In a recent chat with POLITICO, Orbán’s political director said that despite virulent criticism of the EU as currently configured, Budapest still sees its place firmly within the EU. “We want to be inside. We are part of the club,” said the aide, Balasz Orbán (no relation). Similarly, Czechia’s populist incoming prime minister Andrej Babiš, though no fan of Brussels, has gone so far as to rule out a referendum on his country’s membership in the EU or NATO in his government manifesto.  Could this be the first hint of a tectonic shift in European politics? Ave Europa, the group founded in March, plans to run candidates in the next EU elections. Volt Europa, a pan-European, federalist party, won five seats in the most recent European Parliament elections, and now has 30 national chapters both inside and outside the EU. To grow much bigger, such parties would benefit from a change to the European Parliament’s rules that would allow candidates to compete for a number of EU-wide seats in transnational campaigns, versus the current system whereby campaigns are nationally bound — a change that Savall of the Young Federalists points to as her group’s “No. 1” policy priority.  But to become a reality, it would have to be embraced by the EU’s current leaders, who haven’t shown much interest in recent years. The United States of Europe may not become a reality in the next few months, or even years. But its online cheerleaders are determined to bring that horizon closer — one “EU soldier” meme at a time. 

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler in a speech Saturday evening, warning that the Kremlin leader’s ambitions won’t stop with Ukraine. “Just as the Sudetenland was not enough in 1938, Putin will not stop,” Merz said, referring to a part of Czechoslovakia that the Allies ceded to the Nazi leader with an agreement. Hitler continued his expansion into Europe after that. “If Ukraine falls, he won’t stop there,” Merz said, referring to Putin. German, British and French officials are set to meet in Berlin this weekend to discuss proposals to end the war in Ukraine. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is also expected to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The talks are in preparation for a planned summit of leaders including Merz, Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Zelenskyy on Monday over stopping Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. A U.S.-backed 20-point peace plan is in the works, which includes territorial concessions on Ukraine’s part. Under one proposal being discussed, the Donbas region would be made into a free-trade zone were American companies can freely operate. Merz was speaking at a party conference of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria, which is closely aligned with his own party, the Christian Democrats.

THE TRUMP EFFECT: HOW ONE MAN’S POLITICS REWIRED EUROPE From defense to trade to climate policy, Trump’s second term has shaken Europe’s foundations and forced leaders across the continent to adapt to a new transatlantic reality. By POLITICO Illustration by Jiyeun Kang for POLITICO Even with an ocean apart, there isn’t an industry in Europe that hasn’t been impacted by President Donald Trump’s actions.   Businesses and consumers alike are reeling from Trump’s tariffs. Climate advocates are reeling from the U.S. pulling out of major treaties, including the Paris Agreement. National budgets are being strained by Trump’s demand for more defense spending from European countries, while militaries are rebuilding their ranks and rethinking their strategies. Politicians are seizing the opportunity to stand out in this moment of crisis — some as protectors against Trump’s rampage and others as acolytes of MAGA-style populism.   It’s difficult to even track the impact of Trump 2.0 due to its scope, which is why POLITICO Magazine reached out to eight different thought leaders in Europe and the U.S. and asked: What’s the biggest way Trump has changed Europe? Answers varied from the demise of NATO to changing political identities to setbacks in climate action. A common sentiment, however, is that this is a sink-or-swim moment for Europe.   Here’s what they said.   ‘THE STRATEGIC HOLIDAY FOR EUROPE IS OVER’   Attila Demkó is a security policy analyst and writer based in Hungary.  Trump shattered the illusion that what many believe to be “common values” in Europe are, indeed, common. As it turns out, some of these mostly liberal, left and far-left values are not shared by all. The emphasis on multiculturalism, Wilkommenskultur (the German term for a welcoming culture, especially toward refugees), excessive focus on political correctness and gender issues has created a rift, and the deep divide is not only between Europe and the U.S., but also within Europe itself. While smaller European countries (such as Hungary or Slovakia) and non-mainstream parties (such as France’s National Rally, Poland’s PiS and Germany’s AfD) that oppose Wilkommenskultur, European federalism, and propose a Europe of nations, could be ignored and quarantined as fringe, Trump and the American right cannot be ignored. The rift is real and goes through right in the middle of most Western societies.  Trump also made it clear that the strategic holiday for Europe is over. The continent must pay full price for its own defense, and almost full price for the support for Ukraine. So far, in both cases, the bloc has talked the talk but hasn’t walked the walk. Trump may finally teach Europe to walk — or if it can’t walk, at least get it to stop dreaming and preaching.  ‘TRUMP MAY BE DOING EUROPE A FAVOR’  Kay Bailey Hutchison is a former U.S. Ambassador to NATO.  By challenging Europe to do more in its own defense, President Trump may be doing Europe a favor. If Europeans can adopt a plan to work together to provide military equipment and technology, they will emerge stronger. Increasing defense capabilities, with each country contributing, will also enable significant economic benefits.  Since World War II, Europe has depended on the U.S. for many security guarantees. Like previous American presidents — Republican and Democrat — President Trump has said it is time to make security responsibility more evenly divided among our allies. For maximum results, a more equal share of security must also produce interoperable assets. Organized by NATO, all willing allies and trusted partners could share in building and manufacturing equipment and hardware, while military training and increased exercises could prepare all NATO countries and trusted partners for joint defense when there are attacks of varying severity.   If Europe wisely uses the 5 percent of GDP it promised for defense priorities and works in concert with the U.S. and trusted allies, the world will be safer for those who seek freedom — and Europe will be regarded as a significant and reliable global leader.  ‘ONE OF THE STRONGEST ALLIANCES IN MODERN TIMES HAS WEAKENED’  Manfred Elsig is professor of international relations at the World Trade Institute of the University of Bern.   From an international relations perspective, the biggest way Trump has changed Europe is by destabilizing the U.S.–European partnership. Over the course of Trump’s two presidencies, the bloc has come to realize that the U.S. is no longer a reliable and close partner. Trump has eroded the most important political capital in the transatlantic cooperation: trust — the bedrock of the post-World War II partnership between the U.S. and Europe. The transregional security pact, with NATO at its core, has been badly weakened, denting Karl Deutsch’s infamous “security community” built on a shared sense of values and “we-ness.” And as a result, Europe must quickly rethink its security architecture and take more independent action.  Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Another area where we’re witnessing negative effects of the Trump presidency is the transatlantic marketplace. Primarily, the “trade community” is no longer a model of relatively free, fair and stable trade, and investment relations are leading to less growth and innovation. The secondary effects are trade diversion and growing pressures to protect markets from foreign competition. As a result, Europe will look elsewhere for trade partners that believe in a rules-based system in an attempt to de-risk and secure its supply chains. Economic security considerations will be increasingly mainstreamed into Europe’s international economic agenda, and more stimulus for bloc-building can be expected as well.   Finally, Europe’s investments in climate diplomacy and development cooperation are suffering a setback due to the U.S. “withdrawal doctrine” that started in 2016. The U.S. is either bypassing or selectively instrumentalizing international law, eroding global solidarity and sidelining the ambitious policies the planet urgently needs. As a result, Europe will struggle to find partners at the global level, and will continue on its path to act unilaterally on both climate and development policies.  ‘EUROPE NEEDS TO FACE THE REALITY OF BEING A RESOURCE-POOR CONTINENT’  Heather Grabbe is a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economic think tank.   When it comes to climate and the environment, Trump has distracted Europe from addressing its long-term resource vulnerabilities by creating panic over defense and trade. By creating crises around U.S. military support against Russian aggression and tariffs that hit the trade-dependent European economy, Trump has Europe’s leaders on the defensive and has forced them to focus on short-term security. Of course, these are important issues, but they divert political attention and public budgets away from measures that would bring longer-term security from climate impacts, volatile commodity markets and fragile supply chains by investing in climate resilience and enhancing resource productivity. Russian President Vladimir Putin may or may not invade Europe, and Trump may or may not help protect us, but climate change and resource insecurity will certainly damage the European economy.  Europe needs to face the reality of being a resource-poor continent, not only in fossil fuels but also in many other raw materials. And while Trump is trying to maintain Europe’s dependence on U.S. LNG as a replacement for Russian gas, that is the most expensive way of fuelling the economy it also slows down our transition to true energy security. Fossil fuel subsidies of more than €100 billion a year keep Europe vulnerable to the U.S. and other exporters, rather than spending taxpayers’ money on electrification, enlarging renewable energy production and building the grids and interconnectors that would bring us independence.  ‘THE TURBULENCE THE U.S. HAS UNLEASHED GLOBALLY HAS FORCED MANY EUROPEANS TO GROW UP’   Aliona Hlivco is founder and CEO of St. James’s Foreign Policy Group and a former Ukrainian politician.   The turbulence the U.S. has unleashed globally has forced many Europeans to grow up. They have finally realized they can no longer rest in the comfort of predictable trade deals or rely on the continent’s famously slow but steady regulatory machinery to keep things ticking along. Europe has woken up to the fact that it must shift from the pace and mentality of an aircraft carrier — vast, heavy and resourceful, lumbering toward a destination set out years in advance — to that of a maritime drone: fast, agile, nimble and capable of striking with precision at exactly the right place and time.   This new agility is felt unevenly across the continent but is unmistakably emerging. Germany is finally, and understandably, overcoming its post-World War II paralysis, reclaiming its role as an economic power as well as the “Eastern flank of NATO,” as one Bundeswehr official put it to me earlier this year. France, long a champion of “strategic autonomy,” has at last found the space to act on it. The Northern European nations — Scandinavia and the Baltics — are leading Europe’s defence innovation, rearmament and the next generation of deterrence, including by taking the lead in supporting Ukraine. They also built a sustainable and crucial bridge with the U.K. through the Joint Expeditionary Force — keeping Europe’s only nuclear power other than France closely tied to the continent after Brexit. Military strength may well become the decisive factor determining who leads Europe in the next 50 years, and in that regard, Poland is rapidly emerging as one of the EU’s most powerful members.   Europe is changing. It can no longer afford inertia or the illusion that statements can substitute for action. While Brussels continues to grapple with Washington’s unpredictability — possibly beyond Trump’s second term — European countries are seizing the moment. In an era of uncertain geopolitical multilateralism, they are playing their best cards, hoping to secure the breakthroughs that redefine Europe’s future.  ‘TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY HAS HAD A PROFOUND AND CONTRADICTORY EFFECT ON EUROPEAN POLITICAL IDENTITY’  Aleksandra Sojka is an associate professor of European politics at the University Carlos III in Madrid.   Trump’s biggest impact on Europe has been forcing the bloc to confront its strategic dependence on the U.S. His second presidency has fundamentally shaken the transatlantic alliance, exposing Europe’s critical weakness: the absence of genuine defense and security capabilities independent of American support. Trump’s wavering commitment to NATO and inconsistent support for Ukraine have made European rearmament an urgent necessity, shifting public opinion beyond the political elite. And this pressure has created remarkable convergence among European leaders, enabling decisions that were previously politically impossible — such as excluding defense spending from budget deficit calculations and allocating funds for coordinated European military procurement and shared defense initiatives. While disagreements remain over specific strategies, this fundamental shift is undeniable.  Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images Beyond defense, I consider Trump’s presidency has had a profound and contradictory effect on European political identity. His administration’s divergence from traditional European support for multilateralism as well as the EU’s positions on climate, trade and democratic norms have energized both sides of Europe’s political conflict. On the one hand, it has emboldened Euroskeptic and populist parties, providing external validation for their narratives on issues like national sovereignty and migration. On the other hand, it has triggered a sort of rally-around-the-flag effect with Europeans who increasingly value the achievements of integration and the protections of their democracies. Trust in EU institutions has recovered to pre-crisis levels, and support for bloc-wide policies stands at an historic high. In essence, Trump could inadvertently become a catalyst for European unity and self-reliance, even as he amplifies divisions within European societies.  ‘GIVING US A DIFFERENT DYSTOPIAN VISION OF ONE OF OUR POSSIBLE FUTURES’   Sunder Katwala is director of British Future.    Trump may have changed Europe most by giving us a different dystopian vision of one of our possible futures. Our leaders and the public alike lack a mental map or language for this unfamiliar world in which an American government appears to present a new threat from the West to our peace, prosperity and democracy. While that persists, it means hard work rethinking our assumptions across foreign policy and defense, trade and economics, technology and democracy.  The most significant impact may be political. The Trump administration’s effort to export this particular vision of conflict and polarization has turned America’s traditional soft power to attract into a deterrent, as it is a form of populism unpopular enough to create a boomerang effect. By reframing the choices on offer in our domestic politics, the challenge has catalyzed the search for antidotes among the anti-Trump majorities of our societies, and an appetite among citizens to coalesce around the most viable anti-Trumpist choices when choosing our own governments in these fragmented times.  ‘TRUMP’S ERA HAS HIGHLIGHTED THE EU’S SOVEREIGNTY CRISIS’   Thiemo Fetzer is an economist and professor at the University of Warwick and the University of Bonn.   Trump’s era has highlighted the EU’s sovereignty crisis, most visible in the digital and financial domains. Now is the time for Europe to choose how it will build out its economic future: Will it align with the U.S. or China, or is it capable of reimagining an even more ambitious but autonomous path forward?   By controlling key digital platforms and payment systems, the U.S. holds enormous power over global data and finance, being able to grant or deny access to entire countries or industries. This U.S. economic model — built on services, financialization, and energies like natural gas and crude oil — has powered innovation but also created deep inequality and social dysfunction. For Europe, aligning with this model promises access to capital and technology but risks dependence and division, as the U.S. may pit member states against one another. China offers an alternative model rooted in data sovereignty and a strong industrial base. Its strategy to electrify everything is an added bonus to addressing the shared climate crisis. Yet following Beijing’s path could weaken Europe’s manufacturing.   There is a third path, though: Europe can build its own economic and technological independence instead of choosing between Washington and Beijing. That would mean completing the single market so that goods, capital and digital services can move freely across borders — creating scale, cutting red tape and helping homegrown tech companies compete globally. A truly borderless European business environment would keep talent and investment within Europe, rather than letting it flow to the U.S. or Asia. Pooling defense resources could also make Europe stronger and more efficient, freeing up money and industrial capacity for new sectors such as clean energy and advanced manufacturing. Expanding the euro’s international role would also make Europe less dependent on the dollar and strengthen its financial influence abroad.   This path would tie Europe’s growth to its core values — dignity, privacy, data protection, accountability, and the rule of law — embedding them into its digital and economic systems. In doing so, Europe can continue work pragmatically with the U.S., China and others to set global rules. It is for Europeans to shape their own destiny.