Europe

J.D. Tuccille: America steps down as the world’s policeman

Anybody clinging to the hope that the United States will continue its post-Second World War role as the world’s policeman without major changes was likely disabused of that notion during the tumultuous Feb. 28 White House meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Perhaps the most astonishing part of that clash was that Trump was — for him — relatively restrained. Vice-President J.D. Vance seemed determined to derail the meeting and Zelenskyy apparently came looking for a fight. In the end, it was clear that, going forward, the United States government will assist other countries on its own terms, and only if there’s something to be gained.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, EU, Europe, NATO, USA

America and Europe: Both Need to Take a Deep Breath

“The US has reversed its alliances to side with Russia against Europe!” This is the idea that many commentators in Britain, France and Germany have been hammering in for the past week.

The Washington Post went even further: “For Europe, this is a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency moment. The United States, which has guaranteed European security against Russia for 80 years, appears to have switched sides under President Donald Trump.”

Apparently sharing that analysis, the European Union organized two summits that included Great Britain as an ad hoc member.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia", Europe, USA

Will the EU ever get tough on defence?

European leaders are in Brussels today for an emergency summit on defence, and the future of both Ukraine and the continent. In a further attempt to hash out a peace plan for Ukraine, the 27 EU heads of state are joined by Volodymyr Zelensky. Arriving this morning, Zelensky declared, ‘It’s great we are not alone’.

As part of today’s agenda, members of the bloc are expected to endorse Ursula von der Leyen’s ReArm Europe plan – which will make €150 billion (£125 billion) available in loans for members to boost defence spending. The summit will also likely discuss French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to extend his country’s ‘nuclear umbrella’ to its continental neighbours.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEU, Europe, European Union

Can Europe deter Russia in Ukraine without US military?

Donald Trump appears to have more confidence in the capabilities of Britain’s armed forces than some of his own generals – or, for that matter, many of Britain’s retired military top brass.

When asked at his news conference with the UK prime minister about US security guarantees for Ukraine, Trump said: “The British have incredible soldiers, incredible military and they can take care of themselves.”

However, the US president did leave the question hanging in the air as to whether the UK military could take on Russia.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope

How Does an Entire Continent Fail?

The Trump administration attempts to save Europe from itself.

The second Trump administration has hit the ground running, tackling the biggest problems faced by America and the world simultaneously. Some of the most vexing challenges facing humanity have their root in the European Union, which has created a spectacular failure for its member nations. Can President Trump and Vice President Vance force Europe to correct course before it slips away entirely?

We’re going to find out — because that’s exactly what the administration is pressuring them to do.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope, European Union, Trump World

Trump: EU was formed to screw USA – and they’ve done a good job of it

The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, Donald Trump has declared.

Speaking during his first cabinet meeting, the US president said: “The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it. And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.”

The president says his administration planned to impose tariffs on the EU very “very soon”.

Full meeting.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Europe, European Union, President Trump, USA

Without Europeans, Europe Has No Future

Pro-natalist policies are necessary, but not enough: a culture that has come to believe that individual happiness is its highest goal is one that is on its way to extinction.

The global population crisis—that is, the sharply declining birth rate, which has hit nearly every country on earth, absent (for now) those in sub-Saharan Africa—is perhaps the greatest threat facing civilization. But it’s the one few people want to talk about.

Well, that’s not quite true. In Europe, where birth rates have been below replacement levels for many years, political leaders have no choice but to talk about it. The problem is that most of them only want to say, and hear, one thing: that mass migration from more fertile countries is the only possible solution.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope

The end of the transatlantic alliance

Europe has lost its way

There is no longer any doubt that Europe and America are parting ways. The death of the transatlantic relationship was foretold many times, but at the Munich Security Conference this weekend, it finally ended.

The great American-European divorce has played out in three areas — Ukraine, free speech, and trade. Last week, Donald Trump blindsided the Europeans with his announcement of peace talks with Vladimir Putin. (He said he would do this during his election campaign, but Europe’s leaders were clearly not paying attention.) Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, told the Europeans on Saturday that they will not be included in high-level peace negotiations.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope, NATO, USA

JD Vance’s hard truths on migration have shamed Europe

Sometimes, it takes a concerned old friend to point out things you’d rather not face. Like the fact just a few glasses of wine in the evening have slithered into alcoholism. Or your tendency to be a bit smug and bossy somehow ended up with people being arrested for things you find offensive. That was the role played by JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Societally Destructive Immigration Policy", Europe, USA

Europe Deserves Its Humiliation

It must spend more for its own defense, as American leaders have warned for years.

Europe has been warned, and warned again.

Still, it has been reduced to a near-fainting fit — and, in the case of one German official, actual tears — over the Trump administration’s tough words about its deficient military spending and its moves to begin negotiating on its own with Russia over the Ukraine war.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope, USA

German Minister Blasts Musk and Trump, Calling For More Censorship

Robert Habeck—Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and unpopular lead candidate for the left-wing Greens at the upcoming elections in Germany—has criticised President Donald Trump and his ally, South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, for teaming up “to eliminate boundaries on power.”

Habeck stated that Musk—the owner of social media platform X, formerly Twitter—and other U.S. tech giants “must be regulated, if necessary, in a way that aligns with our values,” during a TV debate on Monday, February 17th. Together with his leftist colleagues in the German parliament, he has sought repeatedly to close down free speech.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope, USA

Europe’s Leaders, Dazed by an Ally Acting Like an Adversary, Recalculate

Faced with undisguised hostility from the Trump administration, Europeans are preparing for what is shaping up to be a go-it-alone era.

For years, European leaders have fretted about reducing their dependence on a wayward United States. On Monday, at a hastily arranged meeting in Paris, the hand-wringing gave way to harried acceptance of a new world in which Europe’s most powerful ally has begun acting more like an adversary.

President Trump’s plan to negotiate a peace settlement in Ukraine with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, with neither the Ukrainians nor Europeans invited to take part, has forced dazed leaders in capitals like Berlin, London and Paris to confront a series of hard choices, painful trade-offs and costly new burdens.

So the emerging consensus narrative is to smear President Trump’s administration as “adversarial” for asking fellow NATO members to pony up their fair share if they want a seat at the table.

No pay no play was inevitable and they’ve known it for years.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope, NATO, President Trump, USA

JD Vance has signed the death warrant of the status quo

His intellectual waterboarding of Europe’s elites was a joy to watch.

Well, that was a delicious spectacle. America’s self-made VP gloriously roasting the wizened technocrats of Europe. A Yank from dirt-poor origins sticking it to Europe’s turbo-smug ruling class. How they squirmed as the boy from Ohio who somehow made it to the top of US politics chastised them for their indecent desertion of the ideals of liberty, democracy and security. It was like an intellectual waterboarding, and I loved every minute of it.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEurope, USA