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EU Observer (30 January 2026)

Owen Carpenter-Zehe

With Donald Trump now in the White House for just over a year, the EU as a bloc has struggled to balance safeguarding its own economic and social interests with maintaining the transatlantic relationship with Washington on which it relies for its security.

Trump loves uncertainty, and he often changes policies and positions in a disruptive and unpredictable way — something EU leaders dislike and are uncomfortable with. 

Earlier this month, the Dutch foreign affairs minister said nobody in Europe has a “golden formula” to deal with Trump. David van Weel made his remark in the context of fresh Trump tariff threats over the Greenland crisis — only to be proven wrong a day later by his Dutch former colleague, Nato chief Mark Rutte, who seems to have adopted an approach which includes calling Trump “Daddy” at Davos.

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