Europe, America and ‘E-Day’

It’s great theater, a political staging over days and countries: When the changing cast of the most powerful leaders of the world meet each other in Europe these days, it is immediately clear that something is on the move in our continent. The “Festival of Freedom” in Poland, the G-7 summit in Brussels and the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of D-Day in France provide evidence to indicate fundamental changes in the geopolitical situation.

Disillusionment, Disappointment, Alienation

It is clear that the Ukraine crisis is hovering over all these events. After the implosion of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the U.S., as the only remaining superpower, neglected to cash in on its peace dividend and failed to establish — together with the Europeans and Russians — a new order on the continent. Now Moscow is striving to raise something like a half-polar world order — with the most remarkable Russian talent. All unprejudiced political observers agree that Vladimir Putin’s tactical victory in the Crimea will have negative, long-term, strategic, political and economic consequences that far exceed the simple territorial and propaganda win.

The less obvious signals of the Summit Series, however, affected the old West itself. On D-Day the beginning of continental Europe’s liberation from Nazi-fascism is remembered, but this time there will be a different mood among the Western Allies—a group which now includes Germany: In German it could be described as a kind of “E-Day,” in which the “E” stands for Ernüchterung (disillusionment), Enttäuschung (disappointment) and even Entfremdung (alienation), and that is substantially more dangerous in comparison with the brutish military muscle-flexing of Putin.

The Trans-Atlantic Bond Is Wearing Thinner

It has been clear for some time that Europe and the United States are drifting apart from each other — the trans-Atlantic bond is wearing thinner. In Warsaw, Obama stated that freedom is not guaranteed and that the freedom of others should be defended, but Americans and Europeans certainly no longer share the same opinion on this, as they once did in the days of the Cold War or on D-Day itself. Obama, Merkel and co. are trying hard to conceal their differences, but it is quite clear that there are many disagreements over issues such as the National Security Agency scandal, attempts by the Americans to damage the euro, resentment over the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and conflicts over the burden-sharing in NATO. So many that the U.S. and Europe, despite all protestations to the contrary, will not be able to meet the new authoritarian challenges in the world in such a way as they did when they united against the murderous Nazi dictatorship.

The Ukraine crisis is also a crisis of the West because it is no longer sure of itself. The ideological divide between the U.S. — their British lapdogs and Eastern European vassals — and the “old Europe” (Donald Rumsfeld) makes it difficult, beyond all national interests, to face threats from the — Far — East together.

Thus, it is almost a matter of indifference that Obama does not want to meet Putin in France. It would instead be better if he sat down with the U.S. allies and established a new agreement.