Reference News Network August 5 report: Spain's El País website published an article titled "Trump Has Stripped Europe Bare in Just Half a Year" on August 3, the following is a summary of the content:

In just over six months, Trump has already exposed all the weaknesses of Europe. In the past six months, he has shown with his aggressive and confrontational attitude that, despite European leaders' constant talk about "strategic autonomy," Europe is still far from achieving this goal. Europe lacks sufficient strength to voice its own position and influence Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's government to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza; although Europe has invested a lot of money in the negotiations of the Ukraine war, Washington has excluded Europe. When Israel fires at Iran and triggers a series of strikes that could push the world into the unknown, Europe's voice is almost unheard - it can be said to be completely absent.

Hans Krieger, founder of the Brussels Institute for Geopolitical Studies, pointed out, "Trump is not the root cause of Europe's weakness, but he has used Europe's weakness in a way no other U.S. president has ever used." He believes, "Trade agreements are actually not about trade, but about the security protection fees that Europeans must pay."

Danielle Borrelli, former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, stated, "Our dependence on the United States in terms of security in recent months has indeed had an impact, and Trump knows this and takes advantage of it."

Krieger bluntly summarized, "This is not a negotiation between two sovereign states, but a negotiation between a sovereign superpower and a weak country or a group of weak countries that rely on American security guarantees, nothing more."

Trump has never hidden his hostility toward Europe, especially toward the EU. However, Europeans have long known this, they are aware of their geopolitical and economic weaknesses. Daniel S. Hamilton of the Brookings Institution pointed out, "The EU is currently not ready to play the role of a geopolitical or geoeconomic actor. Trump has simply exposed this weakness of the EU."

All that happened this year, especially the EU's signing of an unequal trade agreement, seriously damaged Europe's standing on the international stage. Borrelli said, "This will lead to international isolation. People may think we can still maintain our influence, but this is not the case. We must be more united and stop following Washington on everything." (Translated by Wang Meng)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534964524047172130/

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