It is often difficult to gauge the importance of the agreements reached at marathon EU summits, and a bit of perspective is needed. Early this morning, Belgium's refusal to accept the use of Russian funds frozen in Europe to help Ukraine forced the other member states to find an alternative to secure financial support in Kiiv to sustain the war against Russia, and this came via so-called Eurobonds. This route guarantees the same amount of money that was intended for Ukraine, some 90 billion euros, through the issuance of joint EU debt, a taboo that was already broken during the pandemic. In reality, it is a much more legally secure route, since the seizure of Russian assets by invoking Article 20 on enhanced cooperation of the Treaties is a formula that raises many legal questions, so much so that the Belgian government, the country where it is estimated that 85% of these funds are located, has flatly refused for fear of violating international law.

Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, confidence in the US economy has been shaken. The trade war against its trading partners, plans for massive tax cuts, and inconsistent foreign policy have damaged the US's reputation as a leading economic power. This has been reflected, in part, in a fall in the price of the dollar—the global reserve currency—and, by extension, may affect the role of US Treasury bonds as safe haven assets essential to the functioning of the global economy.

Europe may be one of the most harmed by the decisions made by the current US administration: in trade, through tariffs; in security, through collusion with Russia; and in politics, through support for the European far right. The history of the Old Continent has not exactly been peaceful, but the end of World War II and the Cold War consolidated the peace, which was first shattered at the end of the 20th century by the Balkan Wars and recently by the invasion of Ukraine. The end of the alliance with the US presents a great challenge but also a great opportunity: to take a step forward in European unity in politics, security, economics, and science.