Where does Europe stand in the new world order?
At the SCO summit in Tianjin and the military parade in Beijing, China has presented itself as an emerging world power with strong allies. While relations with the US are tense in the West, Europe is finding it increasingly difficult to assert its position in the world. Commentators assess the risks the continent faces and its ability to stand on its own two feet.
Beware of the Chinese threat
China's growing influence is a cause for concern for Europe, Le Figaro warns:
“The Asian giant presents itself as a stable and rational power in the face of Trump's chaos. But Europe has learned from its mistakes and now knows what Xi Jinping means when he praises China's 'unstoppable renaissance': a strategy of economic exploitation targeting critical sectors (ports, 5G networks, rare earths) in order to keep democracies in a state of dependence. Within ten years, the EU has allowed its trade deficit with Beijing to double. After seeing it kowtow to Trump, Xi will find it hard to believe that it can stand up to him.”
Xi and Putin have the more appealing narrative
The West is no longer the role model, writes Georg Fahrion, China correspondent for Der Spiegel:
“Arab and Asian middle classes see Europe as a picturesque holiday destination, but certainly not the measure of all things. In Africa and Latin America, people are tired of hearing the West go on and on about human rights while migrants die at its borders. The world is annoyed that Europeans and North Americans still consider themselves somehow more civilised in the 21st century, insisting on their supremacy as if it were some kind of ancestral right, without noticing that the balance of power has shifted. ... Right now, Beijing and Moscow simply have the more appealing narrative: welcome to our new world, where we meet as equals and don't boss each other around.”
The West can get along without Trump
China should not be the only country that benefits from the US's geopolitical decline, the Irish Independent stresses:
“Nine of the 25 biggest economies are in the European Union - include the UK and Switzerland and that makes 11 European states. Add Canada, Japan and Taiwan and pro-Western nations clearly bestride the globe. … Europe can survive Trump and just as prestige has drained from Washington to Beijing, so it can be diverted to the Continent. America's loss does not have to be just China's gain.”
Believe in liberal democracy
Reflecting on China's display of military might, Expresso encourages Europe to focus on its own strong points:
“In short, it can be said that China is trying to win friends, the US doesn't particularly mind losing the ones it has, and Europe is having a hard time finding new ones. ... Europe is the home of liberal democracy. It is vital that we believe in its merits if we want to combat the alternatives that are emerging around China, on the one hand, and in response to pressure from America on the other.”
Desperately seeking strong leadership
La Repubblica assesses Europe's ability to stand up to its adversaries:
“Sure, there's still Nato. ... But can we really believe that the patchwork EU will be able to keep the Russians in check if America is absent - or not present enough? Right now that seems like an illusion. Macron seems to believe it. ... But above all there are domestic reasons for the dynamism of this president who is leading a France that is too fragile to plausibly assume a leading role. The German Merz, who is by no means a coward, doesn't believe in this. The chancellor doesn't want to make any mistakes - with the extremists of the AfD breathing down his neck he can't afford to.”
Discovering its identity through contrasts
The actions of the superpowers are fuelling the awakening of a European identity, writes communication scientist Dejan Verčič in Večer:
“The motto of the leading states is: America first, Russia first, China first. ... Right now it looks as if 'peace for our time' is being bought with a large piece of Ukraine presented on a silver platter. Tomorrow it could hit someone else. Including us. But it is not only Putin who has strengthened the Ukrainian national consciousness. Trump is doing the same for the EU and its identity. Never before have we Europeans known so clearly who we are. ... Now that we have realised that there is a European identity - that we are special and different from the Americans and Russians - it's time to give our existence real meaning.”
Scapegoat Brussels
If Europe is being left behind it's more the fault of individual countries than of the EU as a whole, Corriere della Sera explains:
“All too often, Brussels' more or less obvious deficits have become an excuse for governments to do nothing. Sometimes they have even gone so far as to blame the bloc for their own laziness and shortcomings. One example: is it Europe that fails to invest less than ten percent of what the US does on artificial intelligence, or is it individual governments that are unable to build alliances and raise the level of spending? The excessive regulation from which the EU undoubtedly suffers and which it would do well to remedy as soon as possible also seems to serve as an excuse. But this cannot justify inaction in sectors where such rules are effectively non-existent, such as defence.”
Choose a third path
Europe must find its own path independently of the US and China, writes editor-in-chief Jordi Juan in La Vanguardia:
“We citizens in the West were always convinced we were living on the right side of history. ... With a certain arrogance we tried to export democracy, sometimes with little success, as colonialism proves. ... China's skilful diplomacy has led to the emergence of the Brics as an alternative to Western hegemony. ... All that was missing was for Donald Trump to consolidate this anti-Western front. ... Perhaps the time has come for Europe to choose a third path and distance itself from the US without falling into the arms of China or Russia. Xi's support for Putin confirms that China is not on the right side of history either. His model should not be the alternative.”