As European leaders wake up to the reality of Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House, they must take care to avoid two big traps: panic and denial. It won’t be easy, but the stakes are too high to fail.
The reasons for panic are obvious. Trump may be unpredictable and mercurial, but there is little doubt that his political instincts and stated plans will shake the pillars of Europe’s security, economic and political order.
On security, Europeans have every reason to fear that Trump’s proposed “peace plan” for Ukraine will deprive that country of its territorial integrity and leave it demilitarized and permanently excluded from NATO. And NATO itself may well go “dormant,” with America radically reducing its participation and handing responsibility for the alliance’s military command and resources over to the Europeans.
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