Image: Photo by Guillaume Périgois on Unsplash
Since Donald Trump assumed office in January 2025, his presidency created an unprecedented atmosphere of uncertainty, inconsistency, and ambiguity for America’s European allies. Be it threats of crippling tariffs, an inconsistent approach to the Russo-Ukrainian war, or suggestions of withdrawing American troops from some European countries.
However, arguably the biggest danger to Europe is Trump’s renewed desire to acquire Greenland – including through direct military action. A move that would almost certainly kill NATO and destroy the already weakened Western consensus. This puts Europe (including Britain) in an extremely dangerous position – trapped between an aggressive Russia to the East, and an unreliable, far less-friendly America to the West.
Not to mention the menacing possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which would put the global economy in freefall.
Trump’s renewed push for Greenland should not be seen as anything other than a continuation of such an attitude, where America, due to its immense military strength, has a blank cheque to act as it pleases, without regard to international law or existing alliances.
Unfortunately, Europe is ill-prepared to respond in a meaningful way. Europe is too dependent on the American military and technology infrastructure to mount an effective opposition to this administration. And Trump knows that. He exploits it.
The only way to preserve sovereignty may be European federalisation – a superpower with a unified military and foreign policy. A federal Europe will be able to mount a stronger challenge to Trump and Putin. With a single European military, NATO will become less important, and so will America. Of course, that assumes that a federal Europe will diversify its arms purchases, including through investment in domestic military capabilities rather than purchasing equipment from America. With a single army, with the combined bargaining power of all European states, purchases can also be more efficient.
