Will Europe adopt a unified stance against US?

Ample evidence indicates that US President Donald Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal will be a complete fiasco.

International outrage has been growing against the violation of international law by the US president. This has been stronger among Washington’s European allies.

Such sentiments were aroused following a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the German city of Aachen. This was because people across Europe felt that their leaders were humiliated after they failed to persuade Donald Trump not to walk away from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Christiane Hoffmann, a prominent German analyst, told Der Spiegel that, “The US has chosen a path of confrontation with Europe. Neither Macron’s advances nor Merkel’s sternness were able to prevent Trump from taking this step. In the seven decades of the postwar trans-atlantic relationship, there has never been such a violation of European interests, never such deep-seated discord. ”

A German paper also said that Trump has adopted provocative policies against Europe adding that his exit from the JCPOA dealt a severe blow to Europe.

That’s why Merkel said in Aachen that “It is no longer such that the United States simply protects us, but Europe must take its destiny in its own hands, that’s the task of the future.”

Speaking in the German city, Macron also urged Europe to unite and exert a self-con¿dent “European sovereignty” in the face of an increasingly complex world and unilateral American moves on issues such as the JCPOA and climate change. This could be a dramatic change in relations between the US and Europe after the Second World War. Nonetheless, Israeli lobbies pose a great threat to such approaches by the leaders of Germany and France. Meanwhile, Washington’s inàuence on Europe makes it dif¿cult for Europe to pursue independent policies from the US.

This is while calls for adopting an independent policy from that of the US are growing in the Green Continent. In fact, Washington’s unilateral stance and Trump’s “America First” policy have exerted pressure on Europe. Hence, Europe can no longer pin hopes on America’s economic and military assistance. This makes a separation between Europe and the US unavoidable.

Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA has pushed Europe to follow such an approach.

Presently, Europe, Russia and China are determined to counter the US unilateralism which has led to the collapse of global discipline and paved the way for the expansion of Trumpism.

Now, the world is waiting to see whether Europe will be able to adopt a uni¿ed stance against the US.

*Hossein Ziaee is an Iranian journalist in Germany.