Diplomatic Pursuits
Overall, European strategy (of the EU, the European Allies in NATO, the Coalition of the Willing) is not proactive enough, hence European diplomacy is often running after the others. It is continually in pursuit.
The main reason is that too many European decision-makers do not seem to realise that the part they are used to playing on the international scene, has been deleted from the script. Europe remains wedded to its decades-old role of most loyal ally of the US. In that logic, Europe does have to make concessions, but then a new stable relationship can be achieved with the second Trump administration. But it should be clear by now, from the way Trump treats Europe, that what he really wants is not allies but vassals.
Trump and his ilk do not care about NATO, which they see as a scheme by free-riding Europeans to make the US pay for their defence. And if Trump manages to normalise relations with Putin’s Russia, as he seems itching to do, NATO becomes of lesser importance. The traditional American defence establishment still cares very much, of course – but Trump makes the decisions, not the generals and admirals. Trump does care very much about the EU, though: because he is opposed to its very existence. He is not seeking a new relationship with the EU – he wants to get rid of it.
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