I tell @jeannasmialek.bsky.social that the overarching view among senior EU officials is that: “You have to punch the administration in the face. The punch has to land.”
While the EU wants to deescalate, to get there officials recognise they are going to have to use sticks, not just carrots
While the EU wants to deescalate, to get there officials recognise they are going to have to use sticks, not just carrots
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https://www.lemonde.fr/en/europe/article/2025/04/01/denmark-buys-french-missiles-during-king-frederik-s-first-state-visit_6739746_143.html
Trump's flailing around is doing more harm to the USA than many countries he's targeting (incl. EU members).
Tariffs on digital services might hurt the right companies, and give a boost to EU based firms to help reduce dependency in US providers.
That may also help calibrate the response to have maximum impact for minimum cost.
Italy: "we don't like war much, dontcha know?"
EU: "we're maybe going to need to procure a bunch of stuff from Fincantieri though..."
Italy: "let's talk more, my friends!"
Hard to get 27 independent countries to co-ordinate!