This weekend's Munich Security Conference ended on a sad note: a diplomat crying inconsolably on stage, in front of the whole world. German Christoph Heusgen, the summit's top official, was unable to finish his closing speech. "I'm sorry, it's been difficult," he said. He began to cry in frustration after remember that Europe's democratic values, threatened by the Trump tornado and Putin's plans, are at risk. Crying is not common in politics: it is considered, but it denotes weakness, and even more so in a world that continues to elevate strong leaders and imperial logic.
Heusgen's unprecedented tears are the tears of Europe. In recent days, the continent has once again experienced a political slap in the face. Despite initial illusions, the great fear of Trump's return to the White House has become reality: Europe, a historic ally of the United States, will not be a priority for the Republican president. He ghosting What Washington is doing in the European club on the future of Ukraine This leaves the European Union in a position of strategic irrelevance that is difficult to digest. If Europe has no power to decide the future of a war taking place on its continent, when will it have the power? This question can be answered with another question: if Europe does not seek to disengage now from all dependencies – including the US – and seriously prioritize the famous "strategic autonomy", when will it do so?
US Vice President JD Vance booed in Munich, to the European allies was the trigger that brought tears to Heusgen, a veteran diplomat who already worked representing West Germany in the early 1980s. Vance's booing, an ideological attack on European democracies, has been the confirmation that Washington will not always be a reliable partner. We have known this theory for some time, but now, at the most decisive moment for Europe, it takes on vital urgency. It was summed up, also from Munich and also forcefully, by Volodymyr Zelensky himself: "Decades of old relationship between Europe and the United States are ending. Europe needs to adapt to this new reality. I encourage you to do so for its own good." There is another theory that is also clear: the outcome agreed in Ukraine will mark the future security and stability of the European Union.
Crying is normal in a war. "Yesterday they killed my friend," a Ukrainian journalist wrote to me on WhatsApp, also on Sunday. His friend was one of the many young Ukrainians who became soldiers to defend themselves against the Russian invasion."I have been crying all day," the journalist added. Zelensky on Monday estimated that 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the start of the war. There are probably more. These are also the tears of Europe.
