Part of the problem with leveraging this power is what Alex Younger described as the inability to think autonomously. Describing yourself as an Atlanticist in London, Berlin or Warsaw - time in DC think tanks or military colleges - was de rigueur for being taken seriously in strategic / FP circles.
Reposted from
Edward Burke
"Europe also has formidable strengths that it needs to remember and call upon ... an economy about 12 times the size of Russia’s. The EU is the world’s largest exporter of manufactured goods and services, and is a considerably larger trading power than the US."
www.ft.com/content/452d...
www.ft.com/content/452d...
Comments
Trump provides all the obvious challenges, potentially with severe negative consequences for Europe depending on how extreme he gets
That he also provides the catalyst to resolve this pernicious problem for Europe could be invaluable if we move fast and thoughtfully enough.