The EU Risks Being Crushed Between the U.S. and China
To survive in a bipolar world, Europe must become tougher and more unified. Easier said than done.
No hard power in sight.
Photographer: Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images
Under her leadership, the European Commission will be “geopolitical,” says Ursula von der Leyen, its incoming president. That adjective is nowadays shorthand for a new anxiety in the European Union. In an increasingly bipolar world, the EU could before long be ground up between two huge rivals: the U.S. and China.
The U.S. is of course supposed to be an ally rather than a rival. But in trade President Donald Trump treats Europe more as foe than friend. As a nationalist, he disdains the EU’s multilateral methods. He has sown doubt whether the U.S. would unconditionally defend its European NATO allies in a pinch.