Dies war der Moment, in dem sich die Staats- und Regierungschefs der EU einig waren, dass Europa einen Alleingang antreten muss

(Submission Statement)

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On Thursday, European leaders had gathered in Brussels for an Emergency Summit called in response to Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland. Although the US President backed down 24 hours later, there was a quiet realization that Europe’s post-1945 rubicon had been crossed.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the EU’s two most powerful leaders, who haven’t seen eye-to-eye of late, were united in warning that the transatlantic crisis had catapulted the bloc into a harsh new reality — one in which it must embrace independence.

While the mental shift toward independence has been gestating for years ― ever since Trump’s first term ― his unprecedented threats to Greenland acted as a sudden warning, forcing EU leaders to take steps that would have been unthinkable even just a few months ago

European leaders interviewed by Politico have said that they are aiming for strategic autonomy and a unified response to America on all issues from trade to defence to energy security. The most striking development is the degree of unanimity that is now seen among EU leaders, when until recently even France’s Macron and Germany’s Merz didn’t really get along.