What Trump's vision of the new world order means for Europe
The review is clear about how Europe can regain its "self-confidence".It says: "The growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism. Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory. We will need a strong Europe to help us successfully compete."And one of its policies for doing this is by "cultivating resistance to Europe's current trajectory within European nations".What is meant precisely by "cultivating resistance" raises many questions.In Europe, some have already concluded that the USA may no longer be a reliable ally, at a time when Russia poses a growing threat. After Vice-President Vance's speech in Munich, Germany's Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said Europe would need to "achieve independence" from America with a reshaped Nato.But this takes time."It's not achievable in the short term," says Sir Lawrence. "The Europeans have become very dependent upon the United States, and this was a matter of choice: it was cheaper and simpler."Though in practice it would be desirable to be able to act without the Americans… in practice it's going to take years to disentangle ourselves. And it'll be extremely expensive."So Europe has a difficulty: it can't rely on the Americans, but it can't operate easily without them."
