After the speeches of JD Vance, the American Vice President and Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defense, Europeans can no longer have any illusions about American support. The protective role of the USA on European territory now appears to be ancient history.
Thus, time has accelerated and Europe must question its autonomy. The recent reports by E. Letta and M. Draghi give an initial measure of the ruptures that must be made in order to have this autonomy.
Several thoughts.
The first is energy. Europe is very dependent on fossil fuels that it imports. This is a lever through which Trump wants to increase his dependence on the United States. This must be an additional incentive to further develop renewables and reconnect with nuclear power in order to have the capacity to produce the goods and services that Europeans need.
The second is defense. This issue, urgent with the form of negotiations in Ukraine, is very hotly discussed throughout Europe with an increase in budgets and a special status of this item in budget management.
The third is more autonomous financing. The Capital Markets Union would allow Europe’s excess savings to be used in Europe. This is a necessity to finance energy and defence needs. It must be a source of attraction for investors and a reinforcement of the credibility of the construction put in place.
The fourth aspect concerns innovation and technological dependence on the United States. The needs are considerable and essential. Initiatives on AI must not remain dead letters.
Europe must also reaffirm its commitments on climate. Trump wants to remove the constraints associated with it, but in the long term he is wrong. European companies that also see this as less regulation of their activity must think twice.
Europe, by reaffirming its struggles, must also give itself the means to become attractive again for researchers from all over the world. To retain the brains that may have the American temptation and to attract others because human capital is the major lever of the transformation that awaits Europe.
But Europe must also assert itself as a will, as a framework in which the destiny of Europeans can flourish. This is perhaps the most complex stage today with the rise of populism that defies the long and patient construction of the old continent. Democracy has been Europe’s strength and must remain so.
Europe must transform itself quickly and must change its priorities. It must mobilize resources that will take it out of its comfort zone. Faced with China and the United States, it must take the measure of its power and the need not to enter into a dependency that would be deadly.