Breaking Europe’s Trans-Atlantic Habit: The End of the Senior Partner Myth

The historic trans-Atlantic partnership has fundamentally changed, as the United States now views its European alliances through a transactional and conditional lens. This shift in U.S. foreign policy treats alliances as a means to an end for rent extraction, rather than as sacrosanct commitments. Despite clear signals of this change, European leaders are largely in denial, hoping for a return to normalcy instead of pursuing genuine strategic autonomy. Europe has the means to adapt to this new geopolitical reality and must abandon its identity as America's junior partner.