Twenty years ago, then outgoing NATO secretary general Lord Robertson remarked that those who believed Europe and North America had separate destinies were wrong, that they forgot “how strong and well-founded our common interests have become”.
Referencing mid-19th century British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston’s famous assertion that countries do not have friends, only interests, Robertson said time and world events had given the two continents’ interests “such a degree of congruence and permanence that Palmerston would have found inconceivable”.
How badly those words have aged.
To say US-European diplomacy in particular US-Ukrainian diplomacy, has faced challenges in recent days is an understatement; any illusion of respect from our American ‘allies’ lay trampled on the Diet Coke-soaked oval office floor.
US President Donald Trump, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, harangued and bullied Ukrainian President Zelensky in front of the world’s media, accusing him of “disrespecting” the US and, apparently, for not thanking the country enough.
And while other meetings went as well as could be hoped for – France’s Emmanuel Macron artfully avoided any major bust-ups while gently correcting Trump’s incorrect statements about EU financial aid to Ukraine – the message to Europe has been clear: Pay homage or suffer the consequences.
Because it looks like Trump’s US simply sees Europe as nothing more than a business transaction, a bloc that should be exploited for money.
It seems hard to believe the US would have been happy with low European defence spending for years, something it has vigorously complained about recently, if it hadn’t gained from the arrangement. And Europe’s post-World War II reliance on US defence has undoubtedly given America unprecedented access and influence across the continent.
Even influential conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation thinks US troops “are in Europe first and foremost for American national security interests, as well as crucial American economic interests”.
But why toss those interests aside? Because that is just it, they are merely interests; fickle and changing. Under the current administration, it is perhaps better described as whims.
So, as unsavoury as recent developments have been, perhaps they should be seen more as a blessing than a curse; after all, it’s always better to know where you stand.
Because an untrustworthy friend is no friend at all. European leaders need to realise Trump’s America does not care much about Europe but only its own narrow interests.
Europe should therefore focus on strengthening Europe’s independence from the US and boosting Europe’s defence capabilities to the point that they can deter any possible Russian attack.
The European wing of NATO, too, must be greatly strengthened. And the time is ripe for a discussion on extending the protection of the UK’s and France’s nuclear arsenal to its European allies, something Macron has said he is willing to do.
Because the sad truth is that Europe and the US are moving apart – thanks to Trump’s lack of interest in this side of the Atlantic – as well as his apparent warming up to Putin’s Russia, not to mention his lack of respect for the rules-based international order that has characterised the post-World War II period.
Following the First World War, the victorious powers met in Paris to decide on peace terms and to redraw the world map in their image. Sounds familiar?
It should – but we’re not sitting at the table of the Paris Peace Conference; we’re listening at the door.