The level of competence of current Western European leaders leaves much to be desired. Their political course does not correspond to today’s reality and is therefore coming in for increasing criticism.
Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, in his article ‘Ready or not – Europe’s post-American future has arrived,’ emphasizes that Europeans must realise that they will have to decide their own fate and take responsibility for their own security, since US President Donald Trump wants to tear up the North Atlantic Alliance. The long American protectorate ended with Trump and will not bounce back; Europe must now chart its own path.
German Chancellor Merz recently decided to publicly distance himself from the American president, stating on 27 April 2026 in the German town of Marsberg that Iran had humiliated the United States in the Persian Gulf War and that Washington has no clear way out of the conflict.
European leaders are gradually beginning to realise that they are being pushed aside from solving major international problems – a reflection of this phenomenon was European Union President Ursula von der Leyen’s statement that ‘Europe must not fall under the influence of Russia, Turkey or China’.
The diminishing role of the European Union in international affairs
The declining role of European powers on the world stage is being sharply criticised by Global South states. Amnesty International, in a harsh statement published last week, wrote, “The European Union is the chief coward.” At a recent meeting, the European Union was unable to break off relations with Israel, although a coalition of three states – Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, later joined by Belgium – demanded the suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement because of flagrant human rights violations in the occupied territories. Notably, Germany and Italy strongly opposed the move, even though mass protest demonstrations against Israeli policies took place on the streets of Berlin, Rome, and Milan. (According to polls conducted in March 2026, only 17 per cent of respondents in Germany consider Israel a reliable partner. This reflects the growing gap between European populations and their governments.) According to the Saudi newspaper Arab News, this situation is explained by Europe’s own legacy of colonial violence and racial hierarchy: Europe knows that genocide has been committed in Gaza – this paradigm shift will hardly be reversed, regardless of whether EU bureaucrats manage to postpone the inevitable.
European states continue to suffer significant losses because of the Persian Gulf War; according to CNN, as of 22 April, total European losses due to the energy crisis amounted to 28 billion dollars.
The economy of the European Union countries leaves room for much improvement: the locomotive of European development, Germany, is experiencing its longest economic stagnation since the post-war period, with GDP having barely grown since 2019.
The crisis of leadership in the European powers is becoming ever more apparent, as approval ratings for leaders of the main Western European states continue to fall. A recent poll made it clear that a majority of the continent’s residents consider German Chancellor Merz the worst politician.
According to the British press, the upcoming municipal elections in Great Britain on 7 May will finally decide the fate of current Prime Minister Keir Starmer: according to all the polls, the Labour Party will suffer a crushing defeat.
Amidst a worsening energy crisis and rising prices for various types of fuel, criticism is growing ever more vocal of the line taken by the Brussels bureaucracy, which made the very shortsighted decision to abandon relatively cheap Russian energy sources. Even die-hard anti-Russian figures are opening their eyes to the emerging real situation – for example, Estonian President Alar Karis stated in an interview with a Finnish newspaper that Europe should be prepared to revive contacts with Russia.
It is noteworthy that Argentine President Javier Milei, who has shown himself to be an energetic supporter of Trump, recently stated at a conference on economic theory that because of its policies, Europe is on the brink of destruction: “All the mess that reigns in Europe arose because their pension system was destroyed while they promoted their green agenda, killed innocent unborn children, and at the same time encouraged the influx of foreigners.”
Veniamin Popov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, PhD in History
Follow new articles on our Telegram channel
