To many, it is all so simple. With Donald Trump back in the White House, Europe must unite and become more independent of the United States. In particular, it must defend itself without depending on American military capabilities. That means massively increasing defence spending to increase conventional military capabilities and even creating a European nuclear deterrent – perhaps by extending the French Force de frappe to the rest of Europe, which the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said he is willing to discuss.
In reality, there is no actor in international politics called “Europe”. There is the EU, of course, but it no longer includes the UK, which is essential for European security, as its important role in supporting Ukraine has demonstrated. More than that, those who urge Europe to unite in response to Trump seem to ignore recent political developments on the continent. In particular, they seem to imagine there is no far right in Europe apart from in Hungary – or at least they fail to think through the implications of the hard right for European security.
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