Vinocur was referring to Trump’s remark during a recent meeting with EU leaders, when he called himself “Europe’s president.” The comment drew smirks and raised eyebrows but carried a kernel of truth. Not since the EU was founded has a U.S. president wielded greater influence in Europe. A string of recent events has laid bare the EU’s weakness in its dealings with Trump’s America, and the discontent is palpable—even in Brussels.
“He may never be president of Europe, but he can certainly be our godfather and mafia boss,” one EU diplomat sighed to Politico.
The breaking point came in July, when the EU and the U.S. signed a new tariff deal during Trump’s golf trip to Scotland. Throughout the talks, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had promised to stand firm for Europe. Yet the outcome was a lopsided agreement: the EU accepted a 15 percent tariff on nearly all exports to the U.S., while American goods flowed the other way tariff-free. Still, von der Leyen beamed like the sun as the deal was sealed.
Then came NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who in the middle of a summer heatwave referred to Trump as “daddy” and all but hailed him as a new savior. Both Rutte and von der Leyen were later criticized for behaving submissively and giving too much ground.
A French poll soon took the temperature in five of the EU’s largest member states—France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland. A striking 77 percent of respondents believed the deal primarily served U.S. interests, while only 2 percent thought it benefited Europe.
Tempers remain high in the European Parliament. “Where was Europe when you signed that unfair deal with Trump?” asked García Pérez, leader of the Socialists and Democrats, earlier this week. She accused von der Leyen of burying Europe’s strategic autonomy “in the soil beneath a Scottish golf course.”
Von der Leyen defended the deal as the best the EU could achieve under the circumstances. It remains unclear when the European Parliament will vote on it, but the decision is unlikely before October.
Von der Leyen, re-elected last year as head of the Commission, enjoys only lukewarm support at home. A EuroPulse survey in August found just 23 percent of respondents satisfied with the Commission’s work under her leadership, while 36 percent were dissatisfied. The rest had no clear opinion.
As anti-American sentiment grows, Europe faces yet another Trump bombshell. In recent days, the Financial Times and others reported that Trump urged the EU to slap 100 percent tariffs on Chinese and Indian goods. He made the demand on Tuesday, unexpectedly dialing into an EU-U.S. negotiating session in Washington.
Trump told the stunned negotiators that if the EU imposed 100 percent tariffs on goods from China and India, the U.S. would follow suit. The Europeans quickly realized he was serious. Once again, the goal was to punish Beijing and New Delhi for buying vast amounts of Russian oil. “We’re ready to go, but only if our European partners come along,” an American official added.
The timing could hardly have been worse. The EU has long sought a free trade agreement with India, which could be finalized by year’s end. India’s economy is booming, and Brussels sees the country as a vital new market in difficult times.
Nor does the EU want an unnecessary showdown with China. Trump’s proposed 100 percent tariff is unthinkable. As a most-favored nation (MFN), China currently pays about 5 percent tariffs on exports to the EU—though for some goods, such as certain electric vehicles, the rate is much higher (45.3 percent). Despite tense relations, Beijing remains the EU’s second-largest trading partner, and there is no appetite in Brussels to weaponize tariffs as Washington does.
Europe is now watching Trump’s latest gambit closely. Was it just bluster, or a real policy shift? The uncertainty is compounded by Trump’s own ambivalence: advisers warn he has already gone too far, and that pushing harder will not serve U.S. interests.
For von der Leyen and the EU, the months ahead look grim. The perception is growing that both the Union and its leadership are too weak. Even senior EU voices now admit the bloc is in worse shape than previously thought. Instead of setting its own agenda, Brussels spends too much time reacting to others’ often absurd moves—a draining posture over the long haul.
Trump, for his part, has exposed Europe’s flaws all too clearly. The EU has more people than the U.S.—450 million versus 340 million—but still lacks the organization and cohesion needed to act as an equal power.
Earlier this week, the Commission unveiled its “Strategic Foresight Report 2025.” The first such report in five years, it is being read closely across the continent. From the outset, it warns that the rules-based world order is unraveling: “A return to the former status quo seems unlikely,” the report states.
Yet Trump’s America is scarcely mentioned, and China is addressed only with caution. The authors appear reluctant to confront the most sensitive issues: China’s rise as a totalitarian superpower, the threat from Putin’s Russia, and the erosion of democracy in Trump’s America. Instead, the report devotes considerable space to environmental goals and technological ambitions—praiseworthy, certainly, but hardly sufficient.
Some call the document a masterclass in balance. Others see it as failing to grapple with Europe’s most urgent challenges.
E-mail: faeroevi@online.no
