European leaders tried Thursday in Budapest to display a united front in the face of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, but questions remain about their ability to stand together in the face of the blows announced by the Republican billionaire.
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“We have demonstrated that Europe can take its destiny into its own hands when it is united,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“This is a moment in history, for us Europeans, which is decisive,” declared French President Emmanuel Macron. “Basically, the question posed to us is, do we want to read History written by others – the wars launched by Vladimir Putin, the American elections, the choices made by the Chinese – or do we want to write history?
Coincidentally with the upheavals of politics within the 27, the French president made these declarations in the absence of the leader of the other heavyweight of the European bloc: Germany. Faced with the breakup of his coalition, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was not present in Budapest for this summit of the European Political Community (EPC).
Notable fact: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who on Wednesday hailed the “brilliant success” of his “friend” Trump, opted for a resolutely sober tone at the opening of “his” summit, organized in the flamboyant Puskas Arena stadium. , named after the legendary football player Ferenc Puskas.
The day after a spectacular political comeback that stunned America and the world, around forty heads of state and government gathered in the Hungarian capital for this “CPE” summit, before a more restricted conclave with only the 27 EU members on Friday.
Become support for Ukraine, threat of military disengagement, return of customs duties, environmental issues: the upcoming arrival in Washington of the unpredictable businessman, four years after the end of his first mandate, place the EU and the countries close to it face dizzying challenges.
“Knife to the throat”
“The Europeans really have the knife to their throats,” summarizes Sébastien Maillard, of the Jacques Delors Institute. “The result of this election forces the EU to open its eyes. Perhaps it is in situations like these that things can be done.”
Despite repeated calls in recent months for greater European strategic autonomy, the bloc seems caught off guard in the face of a second term that it hoped would be avoidable.
“To put it bluntly, I don’t think they really prepared for such a scenario,” summarizes Guntram Wolff of the Bruegel think tank. “There is no elaborate plan on the way forward, either at the European level or at the Franco-German level.”
In economic matters, faced with the announced “shock of customs duties”, the danger is that everyone will make their trip to Washington.
Donald Trump, who during the campaign compared the EU to a “mini-China” which abuses its American ally by accumulating massive trade surpluses, says he wants to increase customs duties between 10 and 20% for all products entering the UNITED STATES.
Upon his arrival in Budapest, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sought to involve Donald Trump in a common front against the Russian threat, emphasizing how North Korea’s role in the war in Ukraine was a game changer, including for the United States.
Russia and North Korea have grown considerably closer since Moscow launched its assault on Ukraine in February 2022. And the NATO chief knows how much the former – and future – tenant of the White House likes to put forward his meetings with North Korean number one Kim Jong-un.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country fears a drop in American aid, spoke at the opening of the summit.
The objective of the CPE, initially imagined by Emmanuel Macron, is to bring together much more broadly than the European Union. Beyond the 27 members of the bloc, around twenty countries were invited, countries with radically different trajectories vis-à-vis the EU: declared (and impatient) candidates for membership, countries which know that the door is closed to them for a long time and the United Kingdom, which has chosen to leave it with a bang.
