Europe is being drawn into Trump's war

BrusselsThe European Union faces an increasing number of challenges: the war in Ukraine, the return of Donald Trump, and the growing threat posed by China, particularly in the commercial and industrial spheres. The last thing the bloc wanted was for the United States and Israel to launch an attack against Iran and ignite a war that continues to spread throughout the Middle East and which has already... involved several European partners Reluctantly.

A week after the first US and Israeli bombs fell on Tehran, a clear interpretation is already emerging in Brussels: European unity has once again faltered, and the war is deepening the divisions among member states. In this case, the fracture is significant. The Franco-German axis, the EU's political and economic engine, has fractured: while Chancellor Friedrich Merz emerged battered from his subservient stance at the White House in the face of Trump's attacks on Spain, Emmanuel Macron opted to hint that he will follow Pedro Sánchez's lead in opposing Trump's war. Most European leaders, in a position of dependence on Washington, are seeking a balance to appease the US president while simultaneously minimizing their involvement in the conflict.

Sánchez has once again become the dissenting voice in Brussels, and the international press this week positioned him as Trump's greatest counterweight in Europe. The big question now is which EU partners will ultimately support Madrid. Much of the success of Sánchez's strategy depends on this.

In the first hours after the attack on the ayatollahs' regime, almost no member state or European leader dared to speak out. The major European powers aligned themselves with the Pentagon and, instead of upholding international law, emphasized that this was a good opportunity for regime change. The leader who went furthest in supporting the White House was Merz, who not only endorsed the US and Israeli offensive but also downplayed international law and multilateralism and called for acceptance of the world order of the law of the strongest that Trump wants to establish. Merz is one of the European leaders who The New York tycoon is more prone to the claw-claw. and shows very little criticism of the White House, even when the US president threatens and humiliates the EU.

But as the days have gone by – especially after Sánchez's "No to war"—, more and more European leaders have become increasingly critical of the Pentagon. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that he could not "approve" of "operations" that were "outside of international law," and similarly, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer escalated his rhetoric against Trump and was more forceful than ever in condemning the attack. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who is far-right, asserted that the offensive "clearly violates international law." European Council President António Costa, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, among others, also expressed their support for Spain and showed interest in its approach.

A Reluctant Involvement

Despite European partners' desire to avoid involvement in the war initiated by Trump, they are already feeling the first consequences, sending military aid to Cyprus, an EU member state threatened by an Iranian drone attack on a British base. Spain sent a frigate the day after Sánchez's "No to war" declaration, and Meloni, Macron, and Starmer sent more warships on the same day they criticized the US and Israeli attack. Furthermore, both France and Italy have deployed air defense systems and missiles to Middle Eastern states under attack by Iran. However, European administrations are working to ensure that, in the eyes of the public, the sending of military aid to Cyprus or the Gulf states is not interpreted as collaboration with the United States. Meloni herself emphasized this Thursday that Italy "is not at war" and, like Macron and Starmer, remains ambiguous about whether the US can use Italian bases to attack Iran.

Aside from military aid, European partners could also become even more involved in the conflict by being part of the EU and NATO. It's worth remembering that, should a member state of the European bloc be attacked, it can request military assistance from the other countries, since EU treaties stipulate that they have an "obligation" to provide it. So far, Cyprus has not requested it, and Brussels maintains that this option is not on the table.

As for NATO, which is controlled de facto The US has already intercepted several Iranian airstrikes against Turkey, an ally of the military alliance. At this point, no one is mentioning Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all members and therefore they must defend it. But NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is supportive and is pressuring the allies to cooperate with the United States and defend its offensive against Iran. "NATO is not involved, but of course the allies overwhelmingly support what the US president is doing," Rutte asserted.