Trump and Putin Call the Shots. Will Europe Wag Its Tail? – OPINION

Europeans have been far too polite for far too long. At Turnberry, Ursula von der Leyen played the courteous guest while Donald Trump slapped on tariffs and pocketed promises of energy and arms contracts. Washington and Moscow now chat over Ukraine’s fate as if Europe is a side dish. Our only escape is a Federation that can say no, spend smart and act like a power rather than a pawn.

Russian fighter jets and drones have violated the airspace of European states with increasing frequency this summer. These incidents raise the question of whether the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) can deal with the intensification of the hybrid war that Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has been waging against us since 2007. He is no longer content with manipulating public opinion and disrupting electoral and decision-making processes; he is testing the military capabilities of European NATO countries. ‘We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either’, said the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Düsseldorf on 29 September 2025.

Yet, Europe’s impotence and lack of relevance are evident everywhere: from our eastern flank to the Mediterranean to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Europe was also absent during the signing of the peace agreements between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as between Armenia and Azerbaijan, at the White House. The only exception to this is Ursula von der Leyen’s support of Ukraine at the Washington summit, alongside five European leaders.