appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Gabriela Bernal

The latest Doha Forum laid bare an uncomfortable truth: Europe is losing its seat at the table of global affairs. The convergence of the Trump administration’s newly released national security strategy and pointed remarks from senior US officials has exposed the continent’s precarious position in a rapidly transforming landscape – one where Europe increasingly finds itself relegated to the sidelines.
At the forum, the message from US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker was blunt and unequivocal: the European Union should take responsibility for its own defence; this is not America’s job. Pressed about US commitment to European security, Whitaker said that while the United States would remain a strong ally, “we have expectations”.
These expectations, he explained, encompass increased defence spending and living up to traditional shared values such as greater protections for freedom of speech.
Forum discussions, however, showed a widening wedge between US and European values, with the US national security strategy in particular revealing a fundamental misalignment of priorities.
European delegates are concerned the Trump administration has deprioritised democracy, with its strategy document stating a willingness to work with “governments with different outlooks with whom we nonetheless share interests and who want to work with us”. This signals the administration’s preference for economic opportunism over ideological alignment – a world view increasingly at odds with Europe’s stated values.
Besides this, the strategy put on paper what the Trump administration has maintained from the start: Europe must do much more for its own defence. At the forum, Whitaker maintained that while Article 5, Nato’s commitment to collective defence, is “ironclad”, “Article 3 comes before Article 5”. Article 3 refers to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s requirement that members maintain robust defence capabilities.

He held up Finland as the ideal example and praised the Baltic states for raising their defence budgets while calling on the rest of Europe to follow suit. In a particularly striking assertion, Whitaker said Nato’s defence spending target of 5 per cent of gross domestic product “is now the worldwide standard”, strongly implying only those meeting this threshold would be considered as equal allies of the US.
On Ukraine, Whitaker said the US supported reaching an agreement with Russia, claiming “we’re closer than we’ve ever been to peace”. This sent ripples of anxiety through the European delegations, with officials voicing deep concern about being excluded from negotiations over Ukraine’s future.
This worry reflects the stark reality of Europe’s diminished leverage in managing its greatest security crisis since the second world war. The US national security strategy, which includes an unprecedented list of expectations – some may say demands – of Europe, has reinforced these concerns.
Various European officials characterise the document as a gift to Russia, arguing that it signals American disinterest in Europe, which would embolden Moscow. Polish speakers, along with representatives from other European nations, expressed particular alarm about the high likelihood of US-Russia negotiations proceeding without European input.
The head of one prominent European think tank offered perhaps the most devastating assessment: Ukraine has consumed 100 per cent of Europe’s foreign policy bandwidth, resulting in a “complete loss of influence” in the rest of the world, including in the Middle East. Europe has become so fixated on dealing with Russia that its levels of global engagement are a far cry from what they were in the past.




While Russia may not have won the war militarily, it has succeeded in diminishing European influence in global affairs. This retreat has been especially evident in the Middle East, where the US no longer relies on European mediation for regional crises. Instead, Washington has been turning to Gulf partners like Qatar, whose prominence as a mediator was a recurring theme throughout the forum.
The traditional model of Scandinavia-led or Geneva-based mediation is increasingly giving way to middle powers filling the vacuum left by European withdrawal. Multiple panels at Doha highlighted this trend, noting that smaller and middle powers are ascending precisely as European influence recedes.
With US and European diplomatic tactics increasingly at odds, one European official aptly noted that this shift demands that European diplomats should prioritise the continent’s own long-term strategic goals instead of operating as instruments of US foreign policy.
Experts also observed that single-country mediation is becoming increasingly difficult, with future efforts likely to require coalitions of mediating states – another arena where Europe risks marginalisation unless there is a foreign policy reset.

The path for Europe requires an urgent strategic recalibration. The continent cannot afford a continued dependence on American security guarantees, nor can it allow Ukraine to monopolise its foreign policy apparatus. What is needed is a balanced approach that maintains focus on immediate security concerns while strengthening and nurturing relationships with partners beyond Europe’s borders.
Building deeper ties with emerging middle powers could help the continent reinsert itself into a multipolar diplomatic landscape that is evolving without it. Deepening engagement, especially with the Global South, not as junior partners but as strategic equals, would allow Europe to diversify its alliances, regain diplomatic relevance and participate more actively in creating a new world order favourable to its long-term interests.
The Doha Forum made one thing abundantly clear: the world is not waiting for Europe to catch up. If the continent wishes to retain meaningful influence in global affairs, it must forge an independent, proactive foreign policy suited to the realities of a rapidly changing world order. The alternative is continued marginalisation in an international system increasingly shaped by others.


Pascal Lamy says Europe at ‘moment of truth’ on China trade

Brussels announces dates for second round of China-EU trade talks in Beijing next month

Trump says ‘major progress’ made towards US base in Poland

China trusted more than US, EU on AI regulation in Pew survey of middle-income countries

European Union

As Doha Forum made clear, Europe is losing its seat at the table

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks on the first day of the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum in Qatar on December 6. Photo: Reuters

US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels on April 11. Photo: EPA-EFE

French President Emmanuel Macron (centre right) speaks at the Coalition of the Willing Summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky beside him, at a table of leaders from Belgium, Poland, Finland and the European Commission, at the Elysee Palace in Paris on September 4. Photo: EPA

US security strategy is first shot in Trump’s war on Europe

Illustration: Craig Stephens

US Vice-President J.D. Vance speaks at the Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof conference hotel in Munich on February 14. Photo: dpa

Trump blasts ‘decaying’ and ‘weak’ Europe, pushes Ukraine to hold elections

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the White House on Monday. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump with European leaders in Washington in August. Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump at the Nato summit in The Hague in June. Trump said ‘Nato calls me daddy’. Photo: AFP

Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni welcomes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome on Tuesday. Photo; AFP

EU reels from explosive US security strategy that paints the bloc as a rival

European Council President Antonio Costa speaks during a press conference in September. Photo: AFP

As US, EU and Japan boost defence spending, is stimulus their true intention?

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and US President Donald Trump address US Navy personnel on board the USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, on October 28, 2025. Photo: AFP

Opinion

World Opinion

News

World

Europe

Diplomacy

Economy, Trade & Business

Russia & Central Asia

United States & Canada

Consumed by Ukraine, the EU has effectively retreated from global engagement. An urgent foreign policy recalibration is needed


Consumed by Ukraine, the EU has effectively retreated from global engagement. An urgent foreign policy recalibration is needed.


Nato

United States

Defence

Russia

Ukraine war

Ukraine

Middle East

War and conflict

Qatar

Ukraine war: Opinion

Donald Trump

Belgium

Global South

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


As Doha Forum made clear, Europe is losing its seat at the table

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Consumed by Ukraine, the EU has effectively retreated from global engagement. An urgent foreign policy recalibration is needed

Consumed by Ukraine, the EU has effectively retreated from global engagement. An urgent foreign policy recalibration is needed