When the US-Russian “peace plan” for Ukraine was sprung on an unsuspecting Europe two weeks ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his people in a speech: “Right now, Ukraine may find itself facing a very tough choice. Either the loss of our dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”
If any EU leaders were as plain-speaking as him, they might well have used the same words about their own countries. For it is all of Europe, the EU and its member states who are facing the choice between being in control of their own affairs, and their long-standing partnership with the US.
Three times Donald Trump has tried to bounce Ukraine into conceding to Russian demands for the sake of a superficial and unjust peace. Three times the Europeans have scrambled to change the US president’s mind on something they rightly see as existential. How many more lessons do they need to conclude that the transatlantic relationship is over?