【By Bear Chaoran, Observers Network】"Just like many failed marriages, the U.S.-Europe relationship has been filled with arguments, undercurrents of tension, and a superficial harmony maintained in public since Trump returned to the White House a year ago."

The European edition of "Politico" (POLITICO EU) reported on January 19 local time that for many of America's longest-standing and most loyal European allies, the U.S. president Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs over the issue of Greenland has become "the last straw," making the divergence between the U.S. and Europe now inevitable, as Western allies are preparing for a "post-American" era.

The report cited a source stating that in fact, over the past year, European countries have established an "effective" communication mechanism, whenever Trump does something crazy and potentially destructive, they exchange information among themselves — national security advisors from 35 countries maintain regular contact, hold frequent online and offline meetings, and communicate through informal text messages, trying to seek multilateral solutions in a world where Trump himself has become a major problem.

A person familiar with the group's operations revealed that trust is generally high within these circles, and it is not limited to the official level; leaders of the countries also personally participate in work within a new small-scale close group. Leaders such as UK Prime Minister Starmer, French President Macron, German Chancellor Merkel, European Commission President von der Leyen, Finnish President Stubb, and Italian Prime Minister Meloni often send text messages to each other in the same group chat.

Privately, frustrated European officials described Trump's eagerness to annex Greenland as "crazy and mad," and suspected he had entered a "warrior mode" after the Venezuela incident. They believe that Trump's obvious and unwarranted "attack" on Atlantic allies should be met with the harshest retaliation from Europe.

On August 18, 2025, Washington, D.C., U.S., President Trump held a multilateral meeting at the White House with visiting European leaders and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. IC Photo

"I think this is too much," said a European diplomat: "Europe has always been criticized for being weak toward Trump. To some extent, this is true, but we also have our limits."

Now, more and more senior European officials believe it is time to face a reality: the United States under Trump is no longer a reliable trading partner, let alone a trustworthy security ally, and it is urgent to look ahead.

"The U.S. policy is changing, and in many ways, this change is permanent," said a senior official of a European country: "Waiting for the storm to pass is not the solution. What we need is to orderly and coordinatedly move toward a new reality."

POLITICO EU introduced that this communication mechanism involving multiple European countries and the EU leadership is not formal, but very active, called the "Washington Group." This name comes from the fact that these European leaders visited the White House together with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy last August.

"When things move quickly, coordination is difficult, and this group chat has proven very effective," said a person familiar with the mechanism's operation: "This fully illustrates the importance of personal relationships and their role."

The report mentioned that over the past year, the strategy of these leaders has mainly been to stay calm and respond to Trump's actions rather than be provoked by his provocative statements. This strategy has driven the Ukraine peace process, with a "will alliance" composed of some countries working on a framework for a peace plan.

However, Trump's recent hype about the Greenland issue has broken the balance, prompting Europeans to start thinking about how to proceed without American support.

The report noted that in the absence of U.S. support for the U.S.-Europe security alliance, in the eyes of Europeans, NATO may no longer be needed, and the "will alliance" could become the starting point of a new security structure. This new arrangement would not exclude cooperation with the U.S., but would no longer take it for granted.

"The 'will alliance' was initially established to address the Ukraine issue," said a diplomat: "But it has established very close connections among key figures in various capitals. They have been building trust and cultivating collaboration capabilities. They know each other well and can easily contact and send messages."

It is worth noting that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is also in this leadership group chat known as the "Washington Group," adding another intriguing idea to the situation. Ukraine is the most militarized of these countries, with a large army, a highly complex drone production industry, and the most extensive combat experience of anyone.

The report stated that although Ukraine has long sought to join NATO, with the increasing untrustworthiness of any U.S. security guarantee, this goal now seems less attractive than before.

If Ukraine's military strength is included, along with the forces of countries such as France, Germany, Poland, and the UK, the potential military strength of the "will alliance" would be extremely vast, and would include both nuclear and non-nuclear states.

POLITICO EU finally mentioned that although the topic of reducing dependence on the U.S. and enhancing self-defense capabilities in Europe has been around for a long time, in recent days, Brussels has launched a series of initiatives that have attracted widespread attention. The EU has formally decided to achieve self-defense capability by 2030.

Andrius Kubilius, the EU's senior official for defense, proposed a week ago to establish a standing EU army of 100,000 personnel, and rekindled the idea of establishing a European Security Council consisting of about 12 member states, including the UK. European Commission President von der Leyen is also vigorously promoting a new European security strategy, but specific details have not yet been disclosed.

It is generally believed that discussions on the new European security architecture must be started as soon as possible. EU leaders will hold an emergency summit in the coming days to discuss how to deal with Trump's threat regarding Greenland, but the scope of discussion may go far beyond that.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7597412782335148594/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.