Defenceless Europe is reliant on US power
It is to Mr Trump's credit that he has indicated that no deal will be made without the consent of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. It is to his credit, also, that he has stated his willingness to impose sanctions if negotiations prove unsuccessful. Mr Trump must stand by this.
Many will be disappointed by a potential deal that could leave Russia with a substantial portion of Ukrainian territory. It is not clear, however, that a viable alternative still exists. After over three years of warfare, Ukraine's armed forces do not appear to have the ability to expel Russian troops from its territory altogether, or Europe the capacity to sustain Kyiv's fight without American support.
It is hard to overstate how woeful Europe's position is. Tomorrow, the security of its Eastern flank will be discussed at a summit where the Continent's leaders will be seen as an effective irrelevance. They will be seen as such because that is what they are. For all Sir Keir Starmer's bold words about a 'coalition of the willing' and the conditions this group has placed on talks, negotiation in this field is a matter of hard power. Russia has it; the United states has it. To paraphrase another Russian leader: 'Keir Starmer? How many divisions has he?'
The answer to that question may well be 'effectively none'. The result is that Britain will watch on from the sidelines, along with other European nations which have failed to maintain their defensive capabilities.
The modern history of British overseas adventures is one of optimistic attempts to gather allies followed by prolonged periods of embarrassed quiet. When the United States decided to withdraw from Afghanistan, Britain rapidly went from attempting to gather a coalition of 'like-minded' nations to maintain a presence in the country, to concluding that we couldn't hold Kabul airport.
Even now, Sir Keir Starmer's 'coalition of the willing' will be dependent on American goodwill and assets to have a chance of functioning as an effective deterrent to future Russian aggression.
This is an intolerable state of affairs that should never have come about, and which can never be permitted again. As has been clear since Putin's first military action in Ukraine in 2014, Europe needs to take responsibility for its own defence. We cannot assume that the American taxpayer will be endlessly willing or indeed able to bail us out. And we need to be realistic, too, about our economic links to potentially hostile nations.
German diplomats laughed when Mr Trump warned in 2018 that Berlin could not take the risk of dependence on Russian energy. With high energy costs taking a heavy toll on German industry, this attitude is likely to be less widespread. The links, however, remain in attenuated form. The European Union still imports a considerable quantity of Russian oil and gas, with further legal purchases routed through India.
When this war does eventually end, will Europe continue with its project to reduce this reliance, and to retain its economic freedom to manoeuvre? Will it stick with its plan to ramp up defence spending and strategic autonomy? Or will it instead attempt to use the 'peace dividend' to fund the staggering burden of its welfare systems?
US vice-president JD Vance and secretary of defence Pete Hegseth's descriptions of the Continent as 'free-loading', and their expressions of exhaustion at 'bailing Europe out again', are uncomfortably accurate. Europe has spent on ploughshares when it should have spent on swords. It is not clear that it will not repeat this pattern.
In Britain, where some level of capacity has been retained, the assumption that we will always work with allied partners looks like a flimsy justification for having built a force that isn't actually capable of achieving its basic goals. This, too, must be corrected, regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's talks. If there is peace in Ukraine, Europe must rearm to ensure it lasts.
If the war continues, Europe must rearm so that it can continue to supply Ukraine in its conflict. The lessons of the past three years must be learnt. We should never again be so powerless to determine our own future.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Teachers applying for jobs in conservative state must sit test to root out 'woke indoctrinators'
Oklahoma is demanding new teachers from liberal states to take a first-of-its-kind assessment aimed at filtering out what officials call ' woke indoctrinators'. The new certification test, developed by conservative media company PragerU, is being administered for the first time ever on Friday and targets aspiring teachers who have relocated from California and New York. State Superintendent Ryan Walters told CNN that any applicant who fails the assessment will be denied a teaching certificate and barred from working in Oklahoma public schools this academic year. 'This keeps away woke indoctrinators,' Walters said. 'We will not allow these leftists' plans and schemes to take place here in Oklahoma. They are trying to warp the minds of our kids to turn them into social justice warriors.' The 50-question, multiple-choice test covers topics ranging from basic U.S. civics to more politically charged issues. One question asks which chromosomes determine biological sex, while another probes the importance of religious freedom in American identity, CNN reported. Walters, 40, said the test reflects Oklahoma's 'standards and values' and is designed to ensure new teachers 'teach history appropriately' and acknowledge the influence of Christianity in the nation's founding. PragerU, which is not an accredited university despite its name, has gained traction among Republican-led states in recent years. Its content has now been approved for use in public schools in ten states - including Alaska, Idaho, South Carolina, Louisiana, Arizona, New Hampshire, Montana, Texas and Florida - and its videos, which are often criticized for promoting misinformation, are widely used in conservative circles. Jonathan Zimmerman, a historian at the University of Pennsylvania, described the move as a 'watershed moment' for PragerU. 'It's actually giving Prager an explicit role. It's official and it's institutionalized,' Zimmerman said. So far, the test applies only to incoming teachers from California and New York, but Walters said it could soon extend to applicants from as many as eight additional states. An aide to the superintendent told CNN that the test will affect a 'fairly large' number of applicants, though specific figures were not provided. The initiative comes amid a teacher shortage in Oklahoma and increased scrutiny of the state's education system, which ranks near the bottom nationally. Critics have argued that the assessment amounts to a 'political loyalty test,' not an evaluation of teaching ability. 'You don't sign up to teach schools because you hate America,' John Waldron, chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party and a former teacher, said. 'That's not who's teaching in our classrooms,' he said while calling the test an 'insult to our profession.' At a recent State Board of Education meeting, members raised legal concerns and requested to review the assessment before its rollout. However, Walters declined, insisting he had full authority. 'Every teacher that teaches in the state of Oklahoma will have to have a certificate that goes through my office,' he said. 'It has my signature on it. So those will not move forward until this is done.' According to CNN, who obtained a partial look at the assessment, the test includes questions about the Constitution, U.S. Senate composition, and civics basics, alongside more ideological content. In July, the state education department shared Oklahoma's certification standards with PragerU, which then compared them with California and New York requirements to build the test. 'You're gonna teach that there's biological differences between males and females, period,' Walters said. 'We want our students to be patriots. Here in Oklahoma, our academics are going to be grounded in fact.' PragerU CEO Marissa Streit said the goal is to 'undo the damage of gender ideology' and align with the values of Oklahoma's parent community. Walters, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, has also previously mandated the teaching of the Bible in schools as a historical document.
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Global News Podcast Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine: A Global News Podcast special
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have finished their meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, held to discuss a potential end to the war in Ukraine. It lasted less than three hours. And while the leaders said it was productive, they failed to reach a deal. In this special edition of the Global News Podcast, we bring you reaction and analysis from Anchorage and gauge the feeling in Ukraine and Russia. We also look at the true cost of the war in lives and money, and find out what's next for Washington, Moscow and Kyiv on the road to peace. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
100 days of Pope Leo XIV: a calm papacy that avoids polemics is coming into focus
When Pope Leo XIV surprised tens of thousands of young people at a recent Holy Year celebration with an impromptu popemobile romp around St. Peter's Square, it almost seemed as if some of the informal spontaneity that characterized Pope Francis' 12-year papacy had returned to the Vatican. But the message Leo delivered that night was all his own: In seamless English, Spanish and Italian, Leo told the young people that they were the 'salt of the Earth, the light of the world.' He urged them to spread their hope, faith in Christ and their cries of peace wherever they go. As Robert Prevost marks his 100th day as Pope Leo this weekend, the contours of his pontificate have begun to come into relief, primarily where he shows continuity with Francis and where he signals change. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that after 12 sometimes turbulent years under Francis, a certain calm and reserve have returned to the papacy. Leo seems eager above all to avoid polemics or making the papacy about himself, and wants instead to focus on Christ and peace. That seems exactly what many Catholic faithful want, and may respond to what today's church needs. 'He's been very direct and forthright … but he's not doing spontaneous press hits,' said Kevin Hughes, chair of theology and religious studies at Leo's alma mater, Villanova University. Leo has a different style than Francis, and that has brought relief to many, Hughes said in a telephone interview. 'Even those who really loved Pope Francis always kind of held their breath a little bit: You didn't know what was going to come out next or what he was going to do,' Hughes said. An effort to avoid polemics Leo has certainly gone out of his way in his first 100 days to try to heal divisions that deepened during Francis' pontificate, offering messages of unity and avoiding controversy at almost every turn. Even his signature issue — confronting the promise and peril posed by artificial intelligence — is something that conservatives and progressives alike agree is important. Francis' emphasis on caring for the environment and migrants often alienated conservatives. Closer to home, Leo offered the Holy See bureaucracy a reassuring, conciliatory message after Francis' occasionally authoritarian style rubbed some in the Vatican the wrong way. 'Popes come and go, but the Curia remains,' Leo told Vatican officials soon after his May 8 election. Continuity with Francis is still undeniable Leo, though, has cemented Francis' environmental legacy by celebrating the first-ever ecologically inspired Mass. He has furthered that legacy by giving the go-ahead for the Vatican to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome into a vast solar farm that should generate enough electricity to meet Vatican City's needs and turn it into the world's first carbon-neutral state. He has fine-tuned financial transparency regulations that Francis initiated, tweaked some other decrees to give them consistency and logic, and confirmed Francis in deciding to declare one of the 19th century's most influential saints, John Henry Newman, a 'doctor' of the church. But he hasn't granted any sit-down, tell-all interviews or made headline-grabbing, off-the-cuff comments like his predecessor did. He hasn't made any major appointments, including to fill his old job, or taken any big trips. In marking the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki last week, he had a chance to match Francis' novel declaration that the mere possession of nuclear weapons was 'immoral.' But he didn't. Compared to President Donald Trump, the other American world leader who took office in 2025 with a flurry of Sharpie-penned executive decrees, Leo has eased into his new job slowly, deliberately and quietly, almost trying not to draw attention to himself. At 69, he seems to know that he has time on his side, and that after Francis' revolutionary papacy, the church might need a bit of a breather. One Vatican official who knows Leo said he expects his papacy will have the effect of a 'calming rain' on the church. Maria Isabel Ibarcena Cuarite, a Peruvian member of a Catholic charismatic group, said it was precisely Leo's quiet emphasis on church traditions, its sacraments and love of Christ, that drew her and upward of 1 million young people to Rome for a special Jubilee week this month. Ibarcena said Francis had confused young people like herself with his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and approval of blessings for same-sex couples. Such gestures went beyond what a pope was supposed to do and what the church taught, she thought. Leo, she said, has emphasized that marriage is a sacrament between men and woman. 'Francis was ambiguous, but he is firm,' she said. An Augustinian pope From his very first appearance on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Leo has insisted he is first and foremost a 'son of St. Augustine. ' It was a reference to the fifth century theological and devotional giant of early Christianity, St. Augustine of Hippo, who inspired the 13th century religious Augustinian order as a community of 'mendicant' friars. Like the other big mendicant orders of the early church — the Franciscans, Dominicans and Carmelites — the Augustinians spread across Christian Europe over the centuries. Today, Augustinian spirituality is rooted in a deep interior life of prayer, living in community, and journeying together in search of truth in God. In nearly every speech or homily since his May 8 election, Leo has cited Augustine in one way or another. 'I see a kind of Augustinian flavor in the way that he's presenting all these things,' said Hughes, the theology professor who is an Augustine scholar. Leo joined the Augustinians after graduating from Augustinian-run Villanova, outside Philadelphia, and was twice elected its prior general. He has visited the Augustinian headquarters outside St. Peter's a few times since his election, and some wonder if he will invite some brothers to live with him in the Apostolic Palace to recreate the spirit of Augustinian community life there. A missionary pope in the image of Francis Leo is also very much a product of the Francis papacy. Francis named Prevost bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014 and then moved him to head one of the most important Vatican jobs in 2023 — vetting bishop nominations. In retrospect, it seems Francis had his eye on Prevost as a possible successor. Given Francis' stump speech before the 2013 conclave that elected him pope, the then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio essentially described Prevost in identifying the church's mission today: He said the church was "called to go outside of itself and go to the peripheries, not just geographic but also the existential peripheries.' Prevost, who hails from Chicago, spent his adult life as a missionary in Peru, eventually becoming bishop of Chiclayo. 'He is the incarnation of the 'unity of difference,' because he comes from the center, but he lives in the peripheries,' said Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Cuda said during a recent conference hosted by Georgetown University that Leo encapsulated in 'word and gesture' the type of missionary church Francis promoted. That said, for all Leo owes to Bergoglio, the two didn't necessarily get along. Prevost has recounted that at one point when he was the Augustinian superior, the then-archbishop of Buenos Aires expressed interest in assigning an Augustinian priest to a specific job in his archdiocese. 'And I, as prior general, said 'I understand, Your Eminence, but he's got to do something else' and so I transferred him somewhere else,' Prevost told parishioners in his home state of Illinois in 2024. Prevost said he 'naively' thought the Francis wouldn't remember him after his 2013 election, and that regardless 'he'll never appoint me bishop' due to the disagreement. Bergoglio not only made him bishop, he laid the groundwork for Prevost to succeed him as pope, the first North American pope following the first South American. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
