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Politico (15 February 2026)

Paul McLeary and Laura Kayali

European and American leaders spent three days pledging cooperation and offering to slap a new coat of paint on the façade of the transatlantic relationship. But the cracks are still showing.

The United States was less combative than a year ago in its showing at the Munich Security Conference, when Vice President JD Vance launched a scorching attack on Europe.

But the gathering showed that while the alliance continues to function, the old order that bound the two sides of the Atlantic for decades has broken down. There is no consensus on how the relationship can move forward given the regular seismic shocks the Trump administration revels in delivering to the system.

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