Ukraine's Europe Allies Still Hold an Ace Card in US Showdown

Has the fate of Europe been decided in Miami? That was the fear this week, when European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius bemoaned “unacceptable” proposals hatched by the US and Russia to end the war in Ukraine and the fact that Europe seemed unable to lead with its own. “I’m tired of always discussing American plans,” he told an event in Strasbourg hosted by French magazine L’Express. “It would be better if we elaborated ours.”

It’s easy to see where Kubilius is coming from. Even as pushback from the likes of Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer whittles down the Trump administration’s 28 humiliating points to 19 more palatable ones, the threat of a Carthaginian peace punishing Kyiv and sticking Europe with the bill hasn’t gone away. The frontline is in stalemate and Ukraine, which Trump insists doesn’t “have the cards,” will run out of cash by February. European leaders’ deep dependence on the US for defense, energy and trade has relegated them to the role of spectator. US officials spent Monday berating the European Union for overregulating American firms.