The Finnish Prime Minister: The U.S. now only cares about China and Russia, and no longer values us European allies.

Trump has now reverted to a utilitarian mindset—these small EU nations, these minor countries, constantly demanding to stand on equal footing with Americans. The U.S. simply doesn’t care about them.

The phenomenon mentioned by Stubb essentially reflects a harsh turning point in today’s international relations: the United States is shifting from a hegemony prioritizing "values" to a great-power competition machine focused solely on "interests."

For current Washington, the top priority is containing China; the second is undermining Russia. All other matters—including regional security in Europe, climate issues, and trade disputes—are seen as secondary problems that can be outsourced or temporarily shelved.

When the U.S. sees only "player-level" rivals, it no longer wants to expend energy appeasing "pieces" on the board. Under utilitarian logic, the U.S. believes Europe’s security architecture inherently depends on NATO—this "survival dependency" means Europe has no real "exit option."

Europe, accustomed to standing "on equal footing" with the U.S., now faces deepening anxiety and disillusionment.

Since World War II, the transatlantic alliance has long rested on an unspoken understanding of "shared values" and "American protection." But the idea of smaller European nations (even including Germany and France) being "equal partners" was largely a privilege granted by the U.S., not a result of their own strength.

Now, Trump-style "transactional diplomacy" has torn away that sentimental veil—meetings have become cost calculations ("How much are you paying?"), and allies have turned into burdens (trade deficits). To the U.S., a country like Finland with just over 5 million people holds limited value, unless it can play a unique role on the frontlines against Russia.

For EU medium- and small-sized nations like Finland, the situation is especially awkward:

On security, they rely on America’s nuclear umbrella, so they dare not fully break with the U.S.

Economically, they depend on Sino-European trade yet don’t want to offend China.

In discourse, lacking the economic scale of Germany and France, they cannot lead initiatives toward "European strategic autonomy."

When the U.S. focuses exclusively on China and Russia, these nations realize they’ve already lost weight in America’s eyes—trapped in a deep sense of marginalization, anxiety, and loss.

In reality, it’s not that the U.S. doesn’t care about Europe—but on America’s strategic scale, the cost-effectiveness of "using Europe to counter Russia" is far outweighed by the urgency of directly confronting China and Russia. The Finnish Prime Minister’s complaint, at its core, is the disillusionment of a group long accustomed to being valued suddenly realizing they’ve become "a negotiable option."

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1866858950036572/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.