The EU is preparing to slam the door on Trump and cling to multilateralism

European leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss how to contain soaring energy prices, illustrating how the US president’s actions continue to dominate the agenda

The EU is preparing to slam the door on Trump and cling to multilateralism European leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss how to contain soaring energy prices, illustrating how the US president’s actions continue to dominate the agenda Faced with the international disorder created by Donald Trump, the European Union is clinging to multilateralism. Despite the statements declaring the rules-based world order dead, the 27 EU countries agree that it is the only way forward in an increasingly turbulent geopolitical landscape marked by the struggle between the two global superpowers: the U.S. and China. As the US-Israeli war against Iran expands and spreads throughout the Middle East, the EU has emphatically rejected Trump’s demands for European involvement in the conflict. At a European Council meeting in Brussels heavily influenced, once again, by developments in the White House, the leaders of the 27 are seeking solutions to contain energy prices—which have soared again due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz—and are trying to find the right lever of pressure to get Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán to fulfill his promise and allow a multi-billion dollar loan to keep Ukraine afloat against the Russian invader. Thursday’s European summit was supposed to focus on competitiveness, on how to boost Europe’s productivity and halt its deindustrialization. But, once again, Trump’s actions and his volatile, aggressive foreign policy have dominated Europe’s agenda. After a few initial days following the attack on Iran, marked by a more subdued attitude and a lack of criticism (with the exception of Spain and a few others who were less vocal), Europeans have begun to awaken to the reality of the war’s consequences for Europe: from fears of a new wave of immigration to security problems, as well as the escalating price of energy, which is already a reality. The 27 member states will discuss new solutions this Thursday to address a problem that is also global, but one for which they may have some wiggle room. Some countries are calling for lower energy taxes and subsidies for energy-intensive industries; others for renewed flexibility in the carbon emissions trading system. The Commission, for now, is showing signs of seeking a balance that includes all these ideas. It appears it will somewhat relax the emissions trading mechanism, if not as much as Italy or Germany would like. And it is strongly committed to lowering taxes on electricity generation. “Energy taxes, in many Member States, can be more rational,” explained Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen on Wednesday in a conversation with a group of European media outlets, including EL PAÍS. “And it’s one of the things we can do in the short term. Tomorrow, if there is the will in a Member State.” The EU executive is strongly emphasizing this time that this energy crisis is not like the one in 2022, when there was a genuine supply problem with natural gas, whose prices are now much lower than they were back then, despite the shock. Therefore, European authorities stress that the solutions and measures adopted in this area must not distract the EU from the long-term objective of minimizing its dependence on fossil fuels: renewables rely on an inexhaustible raw material that is not subject to geopolitical fluctuations; gas and oil are located in veritable geostrategic powder kegs. Europe also fears that the Iran war will shift the social and political focus away from Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has now entered its fourth anniversary, and encourage some to look once again to the Kremlin for energy deals. “As if nothing had been learned from the large-scale invasion about Russian blackmail at the expense of its oil and gas,” a diplomatic source noted. On Thursday, following what some in Brussels consider a “gaffe” by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who in a speech last week (which she later had to clarify) appeared to certify the death of the rules-based international order, or at least its validity for Europe, the 27 member states will show clear support to multilateralism. “Faced with the challenges to multilateralism and international law, the European Union is firmly committed to respecting the Charter of the United Nations and the norms and principles it enshrines, in particular those of sovereignty and territorial integrity, political independence and self-determination,” says the draft of the European Council conclusions, which this newspaper has had access to. Although some countries are again deploring the lack of resolve, the absence of a firm or critical stance on issues such as the Israeli bombings in Lebanon or the global conflict created by the unilateral attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran —Washington and Tel Aviv are not even explicitly mentioned in the final conclusions—, there is a widespread feeling that the European position constitutes a firm endorsement, or at least as firm as possible given that the 27 member states have very diverse interests, of the multilateralism so battered by Trump. It’s not just the paragraph specifically dedicated to multilateralism, but the very fact that European leaders will sit down to discuss the issue during a working lunch with UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Although the meeting was scheduled since before the new conflict in the Middle East began, it serves to “send a strong signal of support for the rule of law and multilateralism,” diplomatic sources from various countries agree. This is no small matter, they insist, given the diverse positions regarding the United States and Israel: from Spain’s firm “no to war” to Germany’s “this is not the time to lecture our allies,” although Berlin has since hardened its stance, declaring this week that “this is not Europe’s war.” And then there are the European capitals where even the slightest criticism of Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu remains an absolute taboo. “What’s in the conclusions is the point of consensus; there wasn’t consensus to go further,” acknowledges a diplomat from one of the countries that would have preferred stronger language. But this isn’t new, he recalls; it already happened with Gaza. “These conclusions represent a point of consensus regarding the current situation, and that’s all there is to it.” Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition Tu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo ¿Quieres añadir otro usuario a tu suscripción? Si continúas leyendo en este dispositivo, no se podrá leer en el otro. FlechaTu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo y solo puedes acceder a EL PAÍS desde un dispositivo a la vez. Si quieres compartir tu cuenta, cambia tu suscripción a la modalidad Premium, así podrás añadir otro usuario. Cada uno accederá con su propia cuenta de email, lo que os permitirá personalizar vuestra experiencia en EL PAÍS. ¿Tienes una suscripción de empresa? Accede aquí para contratar más cuentas. En el caso de no saber quién está usando tu cuenta, te recomendamos cambiar tu contraseña aquí. 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