The EU disconnects from Russia, but Trump does not

Although it was a planned decision, it is still important. The European Union today approved the definitive disconnection from Russian gas, which will be fully effective on January 1, 2028. The announcement is significant because, as it is a legislative change, it will be a permanent decision, meaning it will not depend on what Vladimir Putin does in Ukraine. The disconnection from Russian gas will be permanent. Thus ends an era in which large European economies, such as Germany, were dependent on Russian gas, creating the paradox that, while Europe was helping Ukraine with one hand, with the other it was buying gas from Putin, thus helping to finance his war machine.

But the decision to disconnect from Russia has a downside: purchases of liquefied gas from the United States and other countries will have to increase. At least temporarily, until the EU completes the process of guaranteeing its energy sovereignty, which can only be built on the basis of gradually abandoning fossil fuels and replacing them with clean energy sources, among which Brussels also considers nuclear energy.

In any case, the Russian invasion is serving to wake Europe up and make it realize that it cannot depend on countries like Russia, just as excessive dependence on the United States, as is being seen with the Trump presidency, would not be good either. It's not that Trump is an unreliable partner, as demonstrated by his constant threats to impose new tariffs despite the signed agreement, but rather his volatility and constant changes of opinion are a danger. Just when everything seemed to indicate that Trump had convinced himself that he could not ignore the Ukrainians, Financial Times has revealed the loud booing that the US president gave Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Friday, urging him to accept the loss of territory if he didn't want to be destroyed by Putin.

This episode once again reveals Trump's true personality, who hates being immersed in a war that he sees as making no economic sense and thinks could end with a simple change of borders, ignoring international law and UN resolutions. In reality, since Putin has so far skillfully resisted all US pressure and speaks the same language as Trump, the US president is activating the easy option, which is to force the weaker party, i.e. Ukraine, to surrender and hand over part of its territory to the Russians.

Trump does not realize that such a solution, if not agreed upon and accepted by both parties, can only be the seed of an even bigger future conflict. And this is where the European Union must stand by Zelensky, something it is already doing. Not so much because Ukraine's right to exist is a matter of justice, but because a Russian victory would ultimately lead to much more instability and, in the worst case, more war.