OPINION — From a European standpoint, should the Trump administration be regarded as a friend, a foe or a neutral great-power transactional player?
The view here is that the Trump administration operates as a foe. The Trump policy, as a matter of practical consequences if not purpose, pushes toward a Europe that is weak, fragmented, and vulnerable.
At the recent Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in declaring the international rules-based order dead and gone, having been replaced by a revival of great-power geopolitics. To play in the new order, Merz pointed toward an even more unified Europe becoming a great power itself.
