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

Trump has returned to utilitarianism—these small EU countries, these tiny nations, 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 reality shift in today’s international relations: the United States is transitioning from a hegemony prioritizing "values" to a great-power competition machine focused solely on "interests."

For today’s 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 "players" at the level of grand chess masters, it no longer wants to expend energy soothing the emotions of mere "pieces." Under utilitarian logic, the U.S. believes Europe’s security architecture itself relies on NATO—this "dependence for survival" means Europe has no real "exit option."

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

After WWII, the transatlantic alliance long rested on an unspoken understanding of "shared values" and "American protection." But the notion of smaller European countries (even including Germany and France) standing on equal ground was, to a large extent, a privilege granted by the U.S., not a product of their own strength.

Now, Trump-style "transactional diplomacy" has stripped away this veneer of warmth—meetings have become accounting exercises ("How much are you paying?"), and allies have become burdens ("trade deficits"). To the U.S., a country like Finland, with just over 5 million people, holds limited value unless it plays a unique role on the front lines against Russia.

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

On security, they rely on America’s nuclear umbrella and thus dare not break completely with the U.S.

Economically, they depend on China-Europe trade but are unwilling to offend China.

In discourse, they lack the economic scale of Germany and France, making it impossible for them to lead efforts toward "European strategic autonomy."

When the U.S. focuses only on China and Russia, these nations realize they’ve already fallen below the threshold of importance in America’s eyes, sinking into profound feelings of marginalization and anxiety.

In fact, it’s not that the U.S. doesn’t care about Europe—it’s just that, on America’s strategic scale, the cost-benefit ratio of "using Europe to counter Russia" has long been outweighed by the urgency of direct confrontation with China and Russia. The Finnish PM’s complaint is fundamentally the disappointment of a group that once felt valued, suddenly realizing they’ve become "optional."

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866858950036572/

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