For decades, the European Union has prided itself on presenting a unified front when dealing with the United States. But in the waning days of 2025, that unity is showing cracks under the pressure of a renewed diplomatic onslaught from President Donald Trump. With the White House openly disparaging EU leaders and rolling out a National Security Strategy that calls for "strengthening resistance" within Europe against what the Trump administration terms "civilizational suicide," the bloc is facing one of its most severe internal crises in years, according to the Financial Times.
Inside the European Commission, the mood has shifted from quiet confidence to tense calculation. Officials, speaking to the Financial Times, say there is a growing realization that any overt response to the White House’s provocations could jeopardize Ukraine’s defense at a critical moment. The Commission, typically eager to defend its institutions and policies, has instead been urged to hold its tongue—a strategy shaped by the urgent appeals of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who, just last week, personally asked Commission President Ursula von der Leyen not to criticize Trump. Their message: keep Washington at the negotiating table, whatever the cost.
“We cannot say to Zelenskiy: ‘Look, we have supported you all this time, but now we have more important things to focus on, like sustainability rules and social media fines’,” one insider told the Financial Times. The implication is clear—the fate of Ukraine, and by extension the credibility of the EU, now depends on an uneasy diplomatic silence.
But this silence has come at a price. The perceived weakness of the European response has emboldened national leaders to contemplate bypassing Brussels altogether. In a direct challenge to the EU’s cherished tradition of unity, some heads of state are openly discussing the possibility of establishing direct channels with President Trump. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking on December 11, 2025, made Berlin’s intentions plain: “If Trump is unable to deal with EU institutions, there are at least individual member states, including Germany in the first place, of course, with whom such cooperation can continue.”
Officials in other capitals are reportedly having similar conversations, weighing whether to sidestep Brussels in favor of one-on-one engagement with the White House. This fragmentation is not limited to diplomatic channels. It is mirrored in the growing dissent over how to fund Ukraine’s defense. The Trump administration has come out against a European proposal to use frozen Russian sovereign assets to back a loan for Kyiv—a stance that has thrown European consensus into disarray. Pro-Trump leaders in Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have voiced their opposition to the loan, while Italy, Bulgaria, and Malta have joined Belgium in calling on the Commission to find “alternative options.”
Nathalie Tocci, director of the Institute of International Affairs in Rome, told the Financial Times that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hesitation stems from a desire not to antagonize Trump, who has floated his own alternative plans for the frozen funds. “They want to send a signal of support to Trump and his plan,” Tocci observed, suggesting that the bloc’s internal divisions are as much about appeasing Washington as about policy substance.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s campaign to reshape Europe is moving forward on multiple fronts. According to Politico, Trump’s plan to restore “European greatness” by strengthening nationalist parties across the continent is already in motion. In the days following the release of the new National Security Strategy, U.S. officials and European far-right leaders have been meeting with increasing frequency. Last week, U.S. Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers met in Washington with Markus Frohnmaier, a politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Frohnmaier confirmed that their discussion centered on the National Security Strategy, which asserts that Europe faces “civilizational erasure” due to migration and the erosion of national identity—a message that resonates strongly with AfD politicians.
This strategy, outlined in the December 2025 National Security Strategy, is not just rhetoric. It is being operationalized through direct engagement with nationalist leaders from Paris to Berlin, underscoring the Trump administration’s commitment to what it calls the restoration of “European greatness.” Far from being an abstract vision, this approach is already reshaping the political landscape of Europe, as nationalist parties find new encouragement—and legitimacy—from Washington.
Within the European Commission, the sense of paralysis is palpable. The current strategy of restraint, officials say, is reminiscent of the bloc’s approach during trade negotiations in the summer of 2025. Back then, the EU faced the threat of U.S. tariffs and chose not to retaliate, instead agreeing to a deal that imposed 15 percent duties on imports—a move widely criticized by experts as appeasement rather than negotiation. “We told ourselves in the summer that we were negotiating three different deals with the US,” one European head of state reflected, referring to agreements on trade, NATO spending, and military support for Ukraine. “But we were kidding ourselves. There was always only one negotiation: keeping the US in Europe.”
The consequences of this strategy are now coming into sharper focus. The EU’s reputation for unity is being tested as never before, with member states openly considering their own paths and questioning the wisdom of Brussels’ current course. For some, the stakes could not be higher. As one head of state put it, “Now that is crystal clear. As is the absence of a clear response.”
For veteran observers, the shift in Washington’s tone represents a historic rupture. Anthony Gardner, a former U.S. ambassador to the EU, did not mince words in his assessment of Trump’s new National Security Strategy. “The Trump administration has declared war on the EU,” Gardner said on December 15, 2025. “That has been clear for a while, but it is now official policy. Our friends have become our enemies.”
As the year draws to a close, Europe finds itself at a crossroads. The choice between unity and fragmentation, between appeasement and confrontation, may well define the continent’s future for years to come. For now, the only certainty is uncertainty—and the sense that the old rules of transatlantic diplomacy no longer apply.
