The EU versus Trump's imperialism

Once again, the European Union has been unable to forge a unified and coherent position in the face of a US military operation in Venezuela that violates all rules of international law. So far, the majority response has been to somehow endorse Maduro's capture and then ask the White House to democratize the country as quickly as possible, as if Donald Trump had acted in the name of universal democratic principles and not out of his own geopolitical and economic interests. In fact, many of those who rushed to celebrate Maduro's downfall on Saturday are now watching with perplexity as Washington may have reached some kind of agreement with his second-in-command, Delcy Rodríguez, to allow her to remain in power. Indeed, this is the situation on the ground in Venezuela.

It is particularly curious that two of the European figures who have so far positioned themselves most clearly against the US intervention in Venezuela have been, on the one hand, Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, And on the other hand, there's the leader of the French far right, Marine Le Pen. They've also used the same argument: that respect for national sovereignty is the key to the world order that emerged from World War II. Without that respect, the world descends into a kind of lawless existence where the strongest has the right to seize any territory they please. Indeed, Trump has already taken steps to annex Greenland, which is part of an EU member state, and fantasizes about adding Canada to the United States.

Sánchez, for his part, saw this Sunday the opportunity to join forces with the progressive governments of South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay) to draft a joint statement expressing their "deep concern and rejection" of the situation created by the administration. The Spanish president has set out to lead the opposition to Trump from Europe, a stance that is not without risks but is the most consistent with the founding values of the Union, which was created to leave behind the expansionist ambitions of states and colonialism, in order to build a space with humane rules and for humane people, based on respect. None of that has anything to do with Donald Trump's America, which dreams precisely of dismantling the EU and returning to a Europe of nation-states. States that, much smaller than the vast United States he envisions, would have no choice but to pay him homage.

That is why the EU should start raising its voice and say that its model is different. The EU must be able to act as an autonomous entity on the world stage without constraints and without appearing as a mere appendage of the US. Among other things, because if Trump's imperialist model ultimately prevails, the EU itself will be the main loser.