World’s Friendliest Superpower? As Trump Upends Globe, Europe Positions Itself | Ursula von der Leyen is trying to ensure that if the international trading system is remade, the E.U. is at the center of what comes next.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/world/europe/european-union-trade-tariffs-trump.html
by DifusDofus
30 comments
edit: Seems I have struck a nerve. People in the EU just can’t bear reality and real life, they get angry when someone points out their flaws and the world they live in. Europe is going to collapse if this is the level of intelligence.
The EU is not a superpower. They can’t secure their borders, they have permanent military occupation, they can’t stop American aggression, they can’t stop Russian aggression, they can’t fight back in economic wars, they don’t have free trade amongst themselves, they can’t even make decisions as countries prioritize their own allegiances over the EU. Canadians right now are wondering why supposed European friends caved so quickly to Trump, it almost seems the only good partner Canada has in its struggle against the US is China.
Zelensky said it himself that to guarantee peace in Ukraine he needs either the US and China but it has to be one of them, the EU doesn’t have the capabilities to do it he said in an interview a few months ago. The EU is not a larger power than Russia is even when Russia is ruined and a small economy.
This is the way to really get to Trump, show him that for all his posturing he’s basically a big sack of lard that is meaningless and not needed.
Friendly suggestion. You need to be thinking about defense.
This woman is the definition of failing upwards. Whatever she has in store for the EU cannot be good.
Land of the free.
China will be the next hegemon, it’s just a matter of time.
If there has to be a superpower, let it be the EU. Keep China away.
TLDR:
The E.U. seems to accept that the rules are about to be rewritten. Given that, its leaders seem to be doing what they can to make sure that when it happens, they are holding the pen.
This lady doesn’t listen! It’s not about holding the pen, it’s about holding the cards
LOL JK
The US has 80 aircraft carriers the EU has 2. The us has 300 destroyers i think the EU has like 30.
If you want global shipping to continue some has to protect the sea lanes.
You need more aircraft carriers and destroyers.
It takes 1 election to have the US leave it takes 3-10 years to build the ships needed.
Edit: the 80 carrier figure includes escort/heilo carriers managed by marines and coast guard.
My bad for not breaking it all down
For all its internal griping, the EU has a good thing going. Resist the urge to listen to Russian propaganda. US population certainly hasn’t.
Just look at the blatant flaunting of stock market manipulation without consequences. The lawlessness across every part of the government from DOGE and war plans on Signal App, to sending innocent people to El Salvador and kidnapping college students.
Which country on this planet would trust US governance in any shape or form?
This is EU’s opportunity to lead globally.
It’s encouraging to see the rest of the world seeking to build a new multilateral framework as the U.S. tries to shatter the existing one. What the U.S. is trying to do now — and what Trump in particular has been pushing — is to divide and conquer. That becomes much easier when countries are negotiating bilaterals instead of settling matters through established processes, protocols, and procedures.
My preference wouldn’t be for this to be EU-led, but for it to be more global in nature. We’ve learned that a dominant player can be a source of great instability, so the answer shouldn’t be just another center of gravity — but rather a broader, more inclusive governance approach.
EU would lead the world if they could unite into 2 country. One leader. One military.
But fractured, they will remain weak.
Friendliest superpower… Sure, We have coffee and cookies.
God, these titles… really?
The EU isn’t a Superpower or anything close to one. It *could* be if its members were willing to sacrifice significant amounts of sovereignty but I have seen nothing to suggest that is currently the case
What trump has actually achieved is to kill trust in the USA…
Clearly being a stupid man, he didn’t understand that after ww2, American dominated and became wealthy because of trust.
Which he’s now broken..
The Uncles and Aunties of the ECB are turning out to be the feistiest libs in town.
DT was elected to pwn the libs. This worked. There is no denying the fact that liberals are quite upset about Trump and his antics. Now ECB libs appear to be legit mad. They’ve all got that pugilistic smirk to their smiles these days.
The ECB has ammo.
Americans will never be able to understand that “superpower” doesn’t necessarily equal “superbully”. Look at them in this very thread.
Super power 😂
Good…the USA has been a blowhard…arrogant…raised eyebrows…
No one outside Europe wants Europe to be at the centre of anything ever again.
Start by ditching the USD as reserve currency.
As an American, I’m supporting this 100%. My country is insane and should never be trusted moving forward.
Good. China is not trustworthy either.
EU: we’re at the center of the world map, for a reason
I for one welcome our European overlords back to the top seat….mainly because I’m European eyyyyyy
We can count on hungary to stop this from happening
Sounds nice but they seem pretty clueless about china and Asia so i doubt they will have any luck with it.
Makes a lot of sense – the Euro is already used by 20 countries – so maybe a new global trading currency.
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