PNN – Since the beginning of 2026, Trump’s excesses have helped European leaders regain some of that confidence.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Foreign Affairs wrote: When Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, European countries initially chose appeasement as their preferred strategy towards the United States.
Faced with a belligerent Washington that threatened to remove the US security umbrella, turn its back on Vladimir Putin by brokering an unfair peace in Ukraine, impose punitive tariffs on their exports, and aid far-right parties, European leaders convinced themselves that flattery and restraint were the best response.
They avoided confrontation, endured humiliation, and hoped that by giving Trump what he wanted, they could preserve the pillars of the transatlantic partnership.
But since the beginning of 2026, Trump’s own excesses have helped European leaders regain some of that confidence.
But developments in early 2026, including the US threat to seize Greenland, a sharp reduction in Washington’s military aid to Ukraine, and the fallout from the energy crisis caused by tensions in the Middle East, have pushed European public opinion and leaders toward a more independent policy.
In response, the EU has stalled ratification of a trade deal with the US while accelerating new economic agreements with countries such as Australia, India, Indonesia and Mercosur, covering hundreds of billions of dollars in trade and a population of nearly three billion.
On the security front, Europe has held joint exercises in Greenland, created new military initiatives to support Ukraine and protect shipping lanes, and used the resources of a $175 billion joint borrowing program to bolster its defense industries.