Steven Everts
This opinion piece by Steven Everts was originally published in Dutch in NRC on 2 May 2025 under the title 'Voelt Europa de urgentie, of zakt het weg in defaitisme?'. It is reproduced here in English with the permission of NRC.
“Chaos, capriciousness, and amateurism. One day there’s rapprochement and an agreement on raw materials; the next we hear shameless Russian propaganda—straight from the White House. But the trend is clear: Donald Trump wants to get rid of the Ukraine file. How that happens, what others think about it, or the reputational damage for the US—it all seems to matter little. As long as there's a ‘deal’ and relations with Russia can be restored.
This is the moment of truth for Europe. It's easy to criticise Trump, but what are we going to do? The hard truth is that Europe, despite tough rhetoric and numerous emergency summits, risks failing the test.
The Franco-British plan for a deterrent force on Ukrainian territory appears to be floundering—due to the lack of an American ‘back stop’. Even the Poles have little enthusiasm for joining such a force. And the political unity of the 27 EU member states to extend sanctions against Russia will be even harder to sustain, if the US lifts its own sanctions.
Thus, Europe—including Ukraine—risks being presented with a fait accompli. And not about something marginal, but about the core of our own security.
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