The European Union could not be in a more precarious position as it faces a Trump administration that has reframed the transatlantic alliance into a tool of economic coercion. For decades, European security has been built on the foundation of U.S. military guarantees via NATO—allowing for underinvestment in defense, industrial capabilities, and technological self-sufficiency. What Europe failed to anticipate was the weaponization of this dependence, as America’s new ruling elite seeks to enforce its economic and ideological interests not through diplomacy, but through raw power and extortion.
For a century, the United States claimed to be a custodian of the free world. That era is over. The second Trump administration has shattered the last illusions of shared values. What remains is pure, unconcealed imperialism.
What we fear now is corporate feudalism on a planetary scale. It would be the fusion of hyper-capitalist oligarchy and nationalist strongmen, where the wealthiest rule without limits, and governments serve only to crush dissent.
The plan is already in motion: NATO is being turned into a tool of coercion, not protection, social media is a battleground for radicalization and propaganda, and European economic dependence to be weaponized to dismantle our sovereignty. The message is clear: submit, or be left defenseless, deregulate, or be denied access to critical technology, abandon European unity, or face economic strangulation. The new empire is not just a return to American unilateralism—it is something darker: an empire that believes democracy itself is obsolete.
Strategic vulnerabilities: dependence as a weapon
This dependency is not limited to defense. It extends to Europe’s technological infrastructure, financial systems, and information ecosystems, which remain deeply intertwined with U.S. corporate dominance. The Biden administration had already restricted the sale of advanced microchips to European nations, but the Trump-Vance-Musk axis has taken this a step further. The new American Empire has made it clear: the EU must dismantle its regulatory safeguards or face economic and technological strangulation.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the realm of social media and information sovereignty. The EU’s information space is largely controlled by Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Google (YouTube, Search), and Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), while TikTok exerts growing influence. Research has repeatedly shown that these platforms are optimized for negative-emotional engagement, addictive consumption, and algorithmic radicalization—a perfect breeding ground for disinformation, political extremism, and foreign influence operations.
A house divided: European fragmentation at its worst
As this crisis unfolds, the EU finds itself at a moment of extreme political vulnerability. Germany and France—historically the engines of European integration—are both in political turmoil. Germany is still in the throes of building a stable government, while France is paralyzed by a deadlocked parliament, held hostage by the far-right, and a far-left unwilling to make compromises.
Meanwhile, Hungary and Slovakia openly undermine European unity, acting as Trojan horses for Russian influence and obstructionists to decisive EU action. The Trump administration is keenly aware of this weakness—and will exploit it ruthlessly. With Russia’s active warfare and the US reconfiguration of its whole global role the EU might face its direst crisis in its whole history.
Without radical action to strengthen its position, the EU will not only face slow agony as manifested by Mario Draghi in his report on European competitiveness, but an existential crisis threatening the foundations of our democratic societies. Unless Europe takes radical steps to fortify its independence, the coming years could spell the end of European sovereignty as we know it.
Despite the grim outlook, Europe is not without power. But power means nothing unless it is wielded decisively. The EU must think as a geopolitical actor—not as a passive economic bloc. If Europe rises to the challenge, it can not only survive the Trump era but emerge stronger than before.
This, however, requires a complete change of tone and pace from the European Commission and the heads of the member states. It is very late, but swift action is still possible.
A bold road forward – five pillars for the future
1. Establish joint debt to defend Europe and fund technological sovereignty
It is clear from the three years of war, that the efforts from the national budgets have not been enough. In this situation a joint debt of sufficient focus and size is the only possible way to address these huge but unavoidable spending needs. Building military readiness and strengthening the defence industrial base could and should be coupled with adequate funding to the development deployment of frontier technologies to enhance both competitiveness and military capabilities.
Europe must no longer rely on NATO alone. We need an independent European defense capability, financed through EU-issued joint debt, much like the post-pandemic recovery fund.
The EU must radically expand military readiness, increase defense spending beyond national constraints, and develop a unified European defense industry to counterbalance American and Chinese military-industrial dominance.
Ukraine is fighting not just for itself, but for Europe. The EU must establish a permanent military and financial support structure, ensuring long-term security against Russia and other authoritarian aggressors.
The choice is stark: debt, or decline.
2. Break free from American economic and technological control – while establishing real capital markets
At the same time, the EU finally needs to address the weaknesses of its financial system by removing all the remaining obstacles that hinder the creation of a capital markets union to unlock the full potential of private funding for the benefit of European industries and economies. The EU must radically accelerate the completion of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), finally unlocking European capital for European industries. The failure to integrate capital markets has left European tech and defense industries at a competitive disadvantage for too long.
This means: a major expansion of European defense investment, a 21st-century European industrial policy—protecting and scaling key sectors and strengthening the Euro’s global role—reducing reliance on U.S. financial systems.
3. Protect Europe’s digital space—defend democracy from reactionary and imperialistic platforms
The Trump administration is likely to pressure the EU to refrain from imposing consequences to American platforms, such as Meta and X, for violating the existing EU legislation. Caving into this pressure would betray our democratic norms and rule of law, as well as deprave European citizens of better digital life by yielding the digital domain to dark patterns, systematic disinformation and other predatory practices. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) must be fully enforced, without compromise. The famous privacy activist Max Schrems and his organization NYOB (None of Your Business) that have already successfully challenged not one but two data transfer agreements between the EU and the US at the EU Court of Justice, have just filed a legal complaints against TikTok, AliExpress, SHEIN, Temu, WeChat and Xiaomi for unlawful data transfers to China. The regulatory framework that the EU has in place explicitly outlaws manipulation of algorithms, data transfers to authoritarian states, as well as many other malpractices that our democracies suffer from today. This is an example of an easy case that is here, the EU just needs to act. If U.S. tech giants refuse compliance, they must face real consequences—including bans.
If the results of these actions still fail to produce meaningful change, the existing legislation needs to be reviewed. Otherwise Europe’s democratic discourse will be dictated by Silicon Valley billionaires who openly support authoritarianism.
4. A New Foreign Economic Policy— reduce dependencies and strengthen global partnerships
With U.S. economic coercion escalating, Europe must dramatically rethink its trade and foreign policy. We in the EU need to turbocharge our trade policy and actively build mutually beneficial economic relationships and other partnerships with third countries of different scales and scopes, firstly allying strongly with the remaining liberal democracies in the world, such as Canada, Britain and Australia, and then especially with the emerging economies in the global South, openly taking into account our former colonial past and economic injustices.
Concluded agreements with Mexico and especially with South American trading bloc Mercosur have to be brought to force as soon as possible, and other trade negotiations, especially with India and Indonesia need to be finalized. The Commission has already envisioned a New Foreign Economic Policy for the EU, which will be focusing on economic security, statecraft, free and fair trade and more strategic use of our external financial instruments.
With successful implementation and sufficient political backing, this new concept could soften the blow that the Trump administration is likely to cause, by opening new markets for European industries, strengthening supply chains and improving access to components and raw materials – without forgetting the deepening political relations with crucial countries in the global south.
5. End European fragmentation—reform EU decision-making & defend the rule of law
In order to take the bull, in this case the Trump administration, by the horns, the EU urgently needs to address its internal crises and inefficiencies of its decision-making processes.
The pressure against governments, such as Slovakia and Hungary, that erode democracy and rule of law and act as a bridgeheads for Russia in the EU decision-making needs to be significantly increased on many different fronts, including denying access to more EU funds and implementing stricter monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to address violations. Introducing qualified majority voting would significantly help in making important foreign policy decisions, such as placing new sanctions on Russia.
At the same time, it is important to address the root causes of fragmentation, societal structures and inequalities, that have fed the polarization in the US to the level that has enabled the new Trump administration to emerge. For example, sufficient level of EU funding provided to reskilling and upskilling would improve the opportunities in the labour market for unemployed Europeans and those at the risk of losing their jobs, potentially reducing anxieties and grievances of those fearing for their future.
The fight for Europe’s future
Europe has stood against tyranny before. It has risen from ruin, defied empires, and built a continent on the promise that freedom is not the privilege of the strong, but the right of all.
Now, that promise is yet again under siege. And if we fail—there will be no one left to defend it.
The age of traditional political divides is over. The techno-libertarian, authoritarian and far-right assault on Europe is not a passing threat; it is a defining challenge of the 21st century. The forces arrayed against the EU seek nothing less than the dismantling of its institutions, the erosion of its values, and the subjugation of its member states to corporate and authoritarian control.
But in this crisis, there is also an opportunity. The European Union was never meant to be a passive subject of history—it was created to shape the future. It has survived existential threats before, from the ruins of war to financial crises, from political fragmentation to external aggression. And it can do so again.
This is not just about Europe’s place in the world—it is about the survival of democracy itself. If the EU acts boldly, it can build true strategic autonomy, protect its democratic foundations, and emerge as a sovereign power, not just in rhetoric, but in reality. If it hesitates, if it fractures, if it clings to outdated assumptions of American goodwill, it will fade into irrelevance, becoming nothing more than a market to be exploited and a political entity to be dismantled.
The age of reliance is over. The age of European power must begin. The choices made in the next months and years will determine whether the EU rises as a force of resistance—or falls as the last domino in the march of authoritarianism.
We have the tools. We have the capacity. Now, we must find the will. Because if Europe does not stand for democracy, no one will.
The time to act is now.
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