The European Union fears a possible victory by Republican Donald Trump in the US presidential election, since, according to Western diplomats, he could completely stop American aid to Ukraine, Politico writes, citing sources.
“Aid to Ukraine could stop overnight. Russian President Vladimir Putin will want to take advantage of that,” one diplomatic source told Politico.
Europe today, as Politico writes, is particularly weak, which is connected both with its “stuttering economy,” and with the struggle for leadership between Germany and France.
Nobody thinks the Democratic Party nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, doesn't have a chance, but her election would largely be a continuation of the status quo.
A Trump win would send a tsunami of panic across a largely rudderless continent already struggling to navigate the two wars on its periphery.
Yes, the European Union has already survived one Trump presidency; some leaders would even argue it emerged stronger because of it.
But in European capitals, a consensus is building: A return of the disrupter-in-chief would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin, potentially trigger a destructive trade war and inflame political divisions across the continent.
Not only is Europe particularly weak at the moment, with a stuttering economy and struggling leaders in Germany and France; but it would be a different Trump who would rock up at NATO summits and international gatherings from the 2016-20 version.
For one, he'd be unshackled by the U.S. officials who sought to restrain him during his first term. For another, the president who once referred to the EU as one of America's “biggest foes” would likely be looking across the Atlantic with a serious chip on his shoulder.