By the Lone Cook
BRUSSELS (AP) – The French Prime Minister described it as a “dark day” for the European Union and a “submission” to the US tariff request. Commentators said that shaking hands with President Donald Trump, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Reyen, was equivalent to surrender.
The problem is that Europe is heavily dependent on the US, not just trade.
Reflecting Trump, von der Leyen spoke out that she approved over the weekend and set the tariff level for most European exports at 15%, 10% higher than she currently has. Her staff texted reporters who argued that the agreement that begins its force on Friday was “the largest trade deal ever.”
A month after NATO Secretary General Mark Latte broke into Trump by calling him “daddy,” Europeans once again swallowed the costs and admitted that praise for an unpredictable president would taste better than losing America.
“It’s not just about trade. It’s about security. It’s about Ukraine. It’s about current geopolitical volatility. You can’t get into every detail.”
“It’s not just about trade, but he insisted the day after Trump finished a golf round with his son on a course owned in Scotland, and the “contract” was sealed in an hour’s meeting.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will listen as he meets President Donald Trump on Sunday, July 27, 2025 at the Trump Turnberry Golf Course in Turnberry, Scotland.
President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shake hands after reaching a trade agreement on the Trump Turnberry Golf Course in Turnberry, Scotland on July 27, 2025.
President Donald Trump will be President of the European Commission at Trump Turnberry Golf Course in Turnberry, Scotland on Sunday, July 27, 2025 (AP Photo/Jaclyn Martin)
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will listen as he meets President Donald Trump on Sunday, July 27, 2025 at the Trump Turnberry Golf Course in Turnberry, Scotland.
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European security-dependent state
Certainly, Europe relies on the US for its security, and security has not been a game, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine. The US allies are confident that if he wins, President Vladimir Putin is likely to target one of them next.
These fears are purchasing US weapons to help European countries protect Ukraine itself. Some people are ready to send and deliver their own air defense systems, and replace them with US equipment.
“We’re going to send military equipment and other equipment to NATO now. They’re going to do what they want, but I think it’s mostly working with Ukraine,” Trump said Sunday, sounding vague about America’s role in the alliance.
Europeans are also wary of US military drawdowns, and the Pentagon is expected to announce it by October. Approximately 84,000 US personnel are based in Europe, ensuring NATO’s deterrent effect against enemies like Russia.
At the same time, Trump has placed obligations on America’s own NATO partners. This is due to concerns about US security interests using section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which appears to be absurd from the Atlantic, on the surface.
Weaning Europe from foreign suppliers
“We are very dependent on the US for safety, so the EU is in a difficult situation,” said Niklas Poitier of the Bruegel Research Institute in Brussels. “Ukraine is a huge part of that, but in general our defense is taken over by NATO.”
“I don’t think they had the willingness to choose a big fight. That might be something that could have been needed in the US,” Poitia told The Associated Press about the important reasons why Von del Reyen accepts tariff demands.
Part of the contract includes a commitment to buying American oil and gas. Now in its fourth year, during the course of the Russian-Ukurean war, most of the EU has reduced its dependence on unreliable energy supplies from Russia, but Hungary and Slovakia still don’t have it.
“The purchase of US energy products will diversify our sources and contribute to European energy security. We will replace Russian gas and oil with major purchases of US LNG, oil and nuclear fuel,” Von Der Leyen said in Scotland on Sunday.
Essentially, Europe slowly tears Russian energy apart, and is struggling to end its dependence on the US for its safety. The Trump administration has warned that its priorities are now in Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere on its own borders.
So, at the NATO summit last month, European allies agreed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on defense over the next decade. Mainly for their own security, but also for maintaining America among their ranks.
The diplomacy involved was not necessarily elegant.
“Europe is going to pay in a bigger way as it should, and that will be your victory,” Latte wrote in a private text message to Trump.
Latte dispels questions about the potential embarrassment and concerns Trump aired, saying, “I have no issues or issues with it at all because there’s nothing to keep a secret.”
Europe feels it has to pay
Von der Leyen didn’t look clever in his encounter with Trump. She often stared at the floor and smiled politely. She did not argue with Trump when he said he was sending help to Gaza. The EU is the world’s largest supplier of assistance to Palestinians.
With the threat of Trump’s 30% tariffs hanging on European exports (whether real or brink-wise), it may have been a cheap price to pay, while the biggest war in Europe is raging.
“It will be negative in terms of the economic impact on the EU economy itself,” Poitier said. “But it’s not on a relatively large scale like the Russian Ukrainian invasion or the energy crisis after Covid.”
“This is a negative shock for our economy, but it’s very manageable,” he said.
The question remains an open question as to how long this entertainment will last.
Mark Carlson of Brussels contributed to this report.
Original issue: July 29, 2025, 1:49pm
