Europe is seriously afraid of the arrival of Donald Trump in the chair of the U.S. president and is preparing for a possible break in transatlantic relations in the event of his victory in the election.
The American edition of The Washington Post writes about this with reference to an interview with 15 politicians and analysts from five European countries.
European politicians believe that having survived one Trump presidency (2017-2021), they have become better prepared for the second one.
"They know the diplomatic dance required, and they are crafting various contingency plans on security and trade," the newspaper writes.
The preparations have failed to ease fears about Trump, who has threatened to dismantle NATO, impose steep tariffs on imports and pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, European politicians and analysts said.
Policymakers also acknowledge that in some ways Europe is now less prepared to deal with Trump than it was before.
The publication writes that during his first presidency, Trump clashed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom The Washington Post calls a "Europe’s decider."
Currently, there is allegedly no leader of her caliber on the continent who could be a counterweight to Trump.
French President Emmanuel Macron is politically weakened, having lost his majority in parliament. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is mired in coalition infighting and confronting a far-right resurgence. And the approval ratings of Keir Starmer, three and a half months into his tenure as UK Prime Minister, are touching record lows.
The publication's interviews with European politicians and analysts showed that Europe will in any case have to undergo a reality check of its dependence on the U.S., regardless of who comes to the White House.
But in the vast majority of cases, the fears of European officials are related to Trump. According to diplomats, the rapid response task force at the EU headquarters is primarily engaged in developing a strategy in case of his return.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, at the end of October it became known that the members of the European Union are preparing to strengthen sanctions against russia in the event that Trump is elected president of the United States.
Recall that in February 2024 it became known that the European Union is discussing the creation of a continental alliance in case the U.S. refuses to defend its European NATO allies after the arrival of Trump.
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