Europeans have only themselves to blame!
Europe’s current confrontation with the bitter reality of being removed from global equations is the result of the Europeans’ own behavior and decisions. No external power has pushed this continent into its present marginal position; rather, by choosing the path of absolute subservience to the United States, Europeans gradually surrendered their independence and political dignity—so much so that today they are not even consulted by Washington in determining a ceasefire in a war taking place on their own soil. This situation did not emerge suddenly or accidentally; it is the product of years of playing on a field whose rules were entirely designed by the United States.
Donald Trump’s recent 28-point plan to end the Ukraine war is a clear sign of this reality. In this plan, there is no trace of Europe’s demands or concerns. There is no mention of the security threats on the eastern flank of the continent, nor of the energy crisis that was directly imposed on European citizens. Trump and his team drafted the peace blueprint based on Washington’s domestic political calculations and economic objectives, without attaching the slightest importance to governments that had long been regarded as loyal U.S. allies. But this disregard is precisely the outcome of those same years in which Europe eagerly turned itself into the servant of U.S. policies.
The reason for Europe’s marginalization today lies hidden in its behavior yesterday. From Iran’s nuclear file to the crises of West Asia, from blind compliance with economic sanctions to practical participation in proxy wars, Europe repeatedly proved that instead of defining its own national interests, it preferred to move within Washington’s orbit of demands.
When Donald Trump, in the first days of his presidency, spoke in a threatening tone about increasing NATO costs, no European leader dared to oppose him. One parliament after another approved higher military budgets to purchase American weapons—without giving a moment’s thought to how such decisions would weaken the continent’s economic foundations and deepen its dependence on the U.S. military-industrial complex.
Perhaps an even clearer example was Europe’s behavior in response to Trump’s trade war. When Washington closed the doors of free trade and imposed heavy tariffs on European steel, automobiles, and technology, Brussels responded not with proportional retaliation but with silence and retreat.
European politicians preferred to sacrifice the principles of free competition in order to preserve the outward appearance of the transatlantic alliance. Today, those same leaders must answer to public opinion as to how, through such submissiveness, they paved the way for the loss of their economic and industrial independence.
Against this backdrop, what is now unfolding in the Ukraine case is the natural product of Europe’s inaction and chronic weakness. A continent that once claimed to balance power between East and West now has no role even in shaping the path to peace in a war that directly threatens its own security. Washington not only failed to consult Brussels in drafting its 28-point plan, but deliberately ignored all European demands in order to demonstrate that, in the new equation of power, there is no place left for European participation.
This exclusion is humiliation—the humiliation of a continent that was once the shared language of global diplomacy and culture, and now stands in a waiting line to see what decision the White House will make about its fate. European governments tried to return from the margins of the peace plan to its center by sending positive signals, but their efforts proved futile.
In this game, allies are only expected to pay the costs, not to play a role. The Europeans failed this test because they had already spent all their cards to secure Washington’s satisfaction. From NATO’s military debts to the acceptance of energy and climate directives that were shaped precisely around U.S. interests, Europe sold off its strategic independence piece by piece in exchange for the coins of loyalty. And now, at the critical moment of determining the fate of the Ukraine war, those same coins have lost all value—because America has already seized everything it needed in advance.
At this juncture, Europeans would do better to blame only themselves.