The presidents of France and Germany have issued a powerful and rare joint critique of American foreign policy under the Trump administration, warning that its actions are undermining the foundations of the post-war global system.
A Stark Warning from Paris and Berlin
In separate speeches delivered this week, Emmanuel Macron and Frank-Walter Steinmeier articulated deep concerns that the United States is abandoning the international rules it once championed. Speaking at the annual ambassadors' conference at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Thursday, President Macron stated that the US, while an established power, was "gradually turning away from some of its allies and breaking free from the very international rules that it was until recently promoting."
He painted a picture of a fragmenting world, saying, "We are living in a world of great powers, with a real temptation to divide up the world." Macron asserted that France "rejects the new colonialism and new imperialism", advocating instead for greater European strategic autonomy and reduced dependence on both the US and China.
The Erosion of a Global System
The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, struck a similarly grave tone during a symposium in Berlin on Wednesday. The former foreign minister described a dual crisis: first, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and second, a consequential "breakdown of values by our most important partner, the US."
He warned that the erosion of the established world order was at an advanced stage, risking a global descent into lawlessness. "It is about preventing the world from turning into a robber's den, where the most unscrupulous take whatever they want," Steinmeier declared. He expressed fear that weaker states could become defenceless and regions treated as the property of great powers.
Implications for European Security and Digital Sovereignty
Both leaders connected their warnings to urgent policy needs for Europe. Steinmeier emphasised that European security policy must be revised, stating Germany must be taken seriously militarily to play a credible role. Macron broadened the critique beyond geopolitics to include the digital realm.
He stressed the importance of safeguarding "a controlled information space" and defended the EU's new digital regulations, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA). These laws, criticised by Washington as coercive towards American tech giants, are framed by Macron as essential for protecting European autonomy from the algorithms of a few powerful companies.
The leaders' remarks, though uncoordinated, reflect a profound anxiety within the European Union's core. EU states are caught between defending international law and maintaining a vital partnership with the US, particularly regarding support for Ukraine. The speeches are widely seen as indirect condemnations of recent US actions, including the raid in Caracas targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and former President Trump's expressed interest in acquiring Greenland.
