On February 18, while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, discussing efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, diplomats from Ukraine and European Union (EU) countries were noticeably absent from the talks. This absence was expected, as Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, had previously stated that Europe would not be included in negotiations.
For Europe, this situation is quite humiliating. Throughout the three-year Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU and its member states have provided over 134 billion euros ($140.3 billion) in aid to Ukraine, nearly matching the $177 billion provided by the U.S. However, with U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to power, U.S.-Russia relations began to show signs of a rapid thaw within just a month. On the very day of the meeting between the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers in Riyadh, Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, labeling him as the instigator of the conflict. This critique not only repudiated the foreign policy approach of the Joe Biden administration but also signaled a major shift in U.S. foreign policy. The “values-based” alliance that the Biden administration painstakingly built may soon become a thing of the past, leading to a decline in Europe’s priority within the U.S. global strategy.
In response to the shifting U.S. policy, Europe is actively trying to persuade the U.S. to consider its security concerns. French President Emmanuel Macron aims to leverage the rapport he established with Trump during the latter’s first term to advocate for Europe’s interests in the Ukraine peace process. Macron visited Washington on February 24. However, no favorable response from the Trump administration toward him had been revealed at the time of writing.
The rationale behind this lack of responsiveness is evident. On February 14, at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, U.S. Vice President JD Vance delivered a scathing critique of multiple European governments, condemning them on different issues, including domestic policies, foreign affairs and military matters. During the conference’s closing session, Christoph Heusgen, Chair of the Munich Security Conference, specifically referred to Vance’s remarks about Europe and voiced his concern, stating, “We must worry that our shared values are no longer secure.” He was visibly moved when he discussed the idea that Europe is no longer an indispensable part of the global order.
For centuries, Europe has been a center of global power, and today, European leaders continue to seek a more prominent role in global governance. However, Europe faces a persistent dilemma: It is a “crippled giant.” Europe remains heavily reliant on NATO for military security and is closely tied to the U.S. During Trump’s first term, European leaders repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with U.S. policies and proposed the creation of a European army. After the Biden administration took office, European countries opted to align their foreign policies with the U.S., often even at the expense of their own interests.
According to data from the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, European businesses have incurred losses exceeding 240 billion euros ($250 billion)—equivalent to 1.7 percent of the EU’s GDP—due to compliance with U.S. sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, the U.S. has capitalized on this situation by exporting liquefied natural gas to Europe and taking high-end manufacturing away from Europe, benefiting from the surge in European energy prices.
European politicians need to be prepared to embrace a multipolar world.
For Europe, a true awakening may lie in recognizing that the old world order, characterized by divisions of “values” and ideologies, has been fundamentally overturned. The East is not the enemy of the West, but rather a potential partner in constructing a new international order and building a community with a shared future for humanity. Ultimately, true multipolarity is not about the dispersion of power; it is about the coexistence of civilizations. –The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
