London and Paris
CNN
—
It was a televised ambush that many in Europe hope will stop a war.
Donald Trump’s dressing-down of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House was a lightning strike to the transatlantic alliance, dispelling lingering illusions in Europe about whether their American cousin will stand with them to counter Russian aggression.
Reeling, perhaps even fearful, Europe may have finally come to its senses over its self-defense needs in the era of Trump.
“It is as if Roosevelt welcomed Churchill (to the White House) and started bullying him,” European lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann told CNN.
In a month when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Europe “PATHETIC” for “free-loading” on defense in a group chat with administration officials (which inadvertently included a journalist for The Atlantic), the continent has been shattering decades-old taboos on defense. Policies are on the table that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago.
The biggest change came in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy. After the federal election, chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz won a vote in parliament to scrap Germany’s constitutional “debt brake” – a mechanism to limit government borrowing.
In principle, the law change allows for unlimited spending on defense and security. Experts expect the move to unlock as much as €600 billion ($652 billion) in Germany over the next decade.
“This is a game-changer in Europe, because Germany was the laggard – especially among the big countries – when it comes to defense,” Piotr Buras, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank, told CNN.
In getting over its phobia of debt, Buras said that Germany has finally acted as though Europe really had passed a “Zeitenwende” – or “turning point” – as described by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February 2022, just three days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Although the invasion jolted Germany, “only the Trump shock made them take this really fundamental decision of suspending the debt brake,” said Buras.
“This is the real, proper Zeitenwende.”
In neighboring France, President Emmanuel Macron – who has long called for European “strategic autonomy” from the US – has said he is considering extending the protection of its nuclear arsenal to its allies, already ostensibly sheltered by American bombs.
Macron’s comments earlier this month came after Merz advocated for talks with France and the United Kingdom – Europe’s two nuclear powers – over extending their nuclear protection. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed the idea, and even called for Poland to consider getting nuclear weapons itself.
Meanwhile, Poland and Baltic states Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – all neighbors to Russia – have pulled out of the 1997 Ottawa treaty on landmines, long considered a key milestone in the end to mass warfare. Lithuania has already announced the purchase of 85,000 landmines; Poland is eyeing producing 1 million domestically.
Lithuania also withdrew from the international treaty against cluster munitions this month, becoming the first signatory ever to do so.
Military conscription has also made a comeback on the continent. Denmark made women eligible for obligatory conscription from 2026 and lowered health requirements for some roles, as part of a bolstering of the country’s armed forces. Poland has also announced plans for every adult male to undergo military training.
Even famously neutral countries are reconsidering their positions. Amid discussions about how to keep the peace in Ukraine in the event of a settlement, the government in Ireland – a military minnow focused on peacekeeping operations – put forward legislation to allow troops to be deployed without UN approval, skirting a possible Russian (or American) veto.
It’s long been the uncomfortable – and often unspoken – truth in Europe that its protection from invasion was ultimately dependent on the American cavalry riding over the horizon. That support no longer looks so sure.
The pivot goes beyond who will do the fighting to who will provide the arms. Some have begun to question future purchases of the astronomically expensive US-made F-35 jets that several European air forces had planned to acquire.
Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo said his country was re-evaluating the expected purchases of the jets in preference for European alternatives over concerns of the US-controlled supply of spare parts.
It’s the first time such concerns were aired publicly at such a high level, especially in favor of jets that, on paper, don’t offer the same capabilities.
But, although Europe seems to have gotten the message, talk of a unified approach is premature.
When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to spend billions more on defense, called “ReArm Europe,” Spain and Italy balked. The plan has since been renamed “Readiness 2030.”
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also ruled out sending Italian troops as part of a European contingent to keep the peace in Ukraine if a negotiated settlement – another key issue on which the continent is split.
The rebranding indicates a dividing line in Europe: The further away from Russia a country is, the less likely it is to put guns before butter.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this month that “our threat is not Russia bringing its troops across the Pyrenees.” He called on Brussels “to take into account that the challenges we face in the southern neighborhood are a bit different to the ones that the eastern flank faces.”
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s former foreign minister, told CNN he was “upset” by the Spanish statements, and that a recent trip to Kyiv – where air raid sirens blast most nights – made it all too easy to imagine similar scenes occurring in Vilnius in the future.
“The further west you go, the more difficult it is to imagine that sort of thing. All the problems, all the decisions, they’re relative,” Landsbergis said.
Although this geographical split could deepen divisions, Buras, of the ECFR, said total European unity would always be “an illusion.”
“What really matters is what the key countries do,” he said, pointing to Germany, France, the UK and Poland. “I want to be cautiously optimistic, but I think we are on the right track now.”
Asked whether March would be remembered as the month Europe woke up, Buras said: “Yes, we have woken up – but now we need to get dressed.”
his speech, he urged world leaders to adopt concrete solutions to combat widespread poverty and environmental destruction.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2095″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
during a visit in which he showed solidarity with migrants fleeing war and poverty. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1669″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
was there to pay tribute to those who died in the Holocaust. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1664″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
two-day trip to Egypt to forge Muslim-Christian brotherhood and show solidarity with the country’s persecuted Coptic Christian minority.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1569″ width=”2790″ loading=’lazy’/>
private audience at the Vatican in May 2017. Joining the President are his wife, Melania, and his daughter Ivanka.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2966″ width=”5272″ loading=’lazy’/>
the first time a pope has visited an Arab Gulf state, and it was the first time a pope had celebrated Mass in the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1403″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
his weekly blessing from the window of his private library in March 2020. St. Peter’s Square is normally swarming with tens of thousands of visitors, but the Vatican was on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1667″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, and it was Francis’ first trip outside Italy since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1654″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
shakes hands with a man dressed as Spider-Man while visiting with people at the Vatican in June 2021. The masked man, who works with sick children in hospitals, also gave a Spider-Man mask to the Pope.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1667″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
his trip to the Vatican in October 2021. Between them is Italian translator Elisabetta Savigni Ullmann. Challenge coins originated in the military, and this one included the insignia of a Delaware Army National Guard unit that Biden’s son Beau served in. Biden said during his visit that coins are given to “warriors and leaders” and that the pope is “the most significant warrior for peace I’ve ever met.” Biden, a devout lifelong Catholic, met with the Pope for 90 minutes and said he discussed “a lot of personal things” with the pontiff. It was the fourth meeting between Francis and Biden, but their first since Biden became President.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1667″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
Francis spoke of his “sorrow, indignation and shame” over the Catholic Church’s role in the abuse of Canadian Indigenous children in residential schools. He apologized and promised a “serious investigation” into what happened.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1973″ width=”3646″ loading=’lazy’/>
Benedict’s funeral was attended by tens of thousands at St. Peter’s Square.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Francis’ visit to the DRC — the first papal visit since 1985 — was part of a six-day trip that also included South Sudan. In those two countries, Catholics comprise about half of the population and the Church is a key stakeholder in health and education systems as well as in democracy-building efforts. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1334″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican in May 2023. It was the first face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and the Pope since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The Pope has been outspoken in his support for an end to the war.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
He was on his way to a Rome hospital for abdominal surgery. The procedure was to repair a hernia that the Vatican said was causing “recurrent, painful and worsening” symptoms.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
working session on artificial intelligence during the G7 summit near Bari, Italy, in June 2024. Francis, the first pope to participate in the summit, is determined to use the soft power of his office to try to ensure that the development of AI serves humanity and does not turn into a 21st-century Frankenstein’s monster.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1667″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
leading a Holy Mass at the Esplanade of Tasi Tolu in Dili, East Timor, on September 10, 2024.
the Pope was admitted to a hospital in Rome. It was later announced that he was battling pneumonia in both of his lungs.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
he was discharged from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome in March 2025. Though he looked frail and struggled to speak, he addressed the crowd outside the hospital, thanking them and acknowledging one woman in the crowd who was holding flowers. He also gave a blessing, though he appeared to have some difficulty raising his arms.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1242″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
