Trump's shake-up of the old world order sends shockwaves through Europe

As 2026 kicks disconnected with respective unexpected geopolitical earthquakes, Europe looks woefully unprepared to woody with the upending of aged rules — and the caller satellite bid — being created by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Less than a week into the caller twelvemonth and not lone has the U.S. deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and threatened Colombia, Iran, Cuba and Mexico, but has besides turned its sights connected taking implicit Danish territory Greenland, perchance utilizing subject force, and threatening the precise cloth and aboriginal of NATO.

Then there's Ukraine, with European leaders' efforts this week to cement information guarantees successful a imaginable bid woody to extremity the warfare looking similar tiny fry arsenic different imaginable territorial takeovers garner planetary attention.

Largely seen arsenic the "Old World" by the remainder of the globe, Europe appears to person fallen acold down different powerfulness blocs connected a fig of levels, with its system successful the dilatory lane and its geopolitical isolation — and evident impotence — successful stark opposition with bullish determination superpowers similar the U.S., Russia, and China.

It's a unsafe infinitesimal for Europe and the existing planetary order, analysts say, arsenic the established rules-based planetary bid is torn up.

"What happened successful Venezuela and present speech astir Greenland, Cuba oregon Colombia, we are truly into getting into uncharted territory, and we person to beryllium truly highly careful," Wang Huiyao, laminitis and president astatine the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, told CNBC Wednesday.

"The planetary assemblage has to enactment unneurotic present and astir apt halt this benignant of unilateral approach. It's a wake-up telephone for the European countries truthful intimately allied with the U.S. who person abruptly realized present that its cardinal ground has been eroded and has been truly challenged."

There's nary uncertainty that Europe knows the occupation it's successful arsenic it confronts some the dangers of ongoing warfare successful Ukraine, and an elusive bid deal, arsenic good arsenic the existent anticipation of a confrontation with the U.S. implicit Greenland, which belongs to EU and NATO subordinate Denmark.

European leaders met connected Tuesday to sermon information guarantees for Ukraine, but besides issued a statement pushing backmost against immoderate American territorial ambitions implicit the Arctic island, insisting: "Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to determine connected matters concerning Denmark and Greenland."

A flurry of fraught diplomacy ensued connected Wednesday morning, with France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stating that helium had spoken to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The French person said Rubio had "ruled retired the anticipation of what happened successful Venezuela happening successful Greenland."

Rubio reportedly told lawmakers astatine a closed briefing connected Capitol Hill connected Monday that the Trump medication did not program to invade Greenland, but aimed to bargain it from Denmark, the Wall Street Journal reported precocious Tuesday.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNBC connected Tuesday that the medication was considering "a scope of options" successful bid to acquire Greenland — including "utilizing the U.S. Military." 

It's not the archetypal clip that the transatlantic concern has looked shaky nether Trump's leadership, with the president hardly containing his disdain for Europe's perceived shortfalls successful caller years, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to defence spending, investment, and economical prowess.

In December, the U.S. warned in its caller nationalist information strategy (NSS) that the portion faced oblivion. Trump past called Europe's leaders "weak" and said the portion was "decaying."

European officials responded to Trump's comments with irritation, but the uncomfortable question was whether the U.S. had a point.

In its NSS, the U.S. listed Europe's waning economy, migration policies, and "loss of nationalist identities and self-confidence" arsenic reasons to interest for the continent. It past warned that European countries faced "civilizational erasure" and questioned whether they tin "remain reliable allies."

Ian Bremmer, laminitis and president of the governmental hazard consultancy Eurasia Group, told CNBC that Washington was fundamentally telling Europe not lone what it already knew, but what it was already trying to fix.

"Civilizational erasure' sounds offensive, but galore European leaders – successful France, Germany, Italy – person been raising akin concerns for years. In fact, EU migration argumentation has tightened considerably since [former Chancellor Angela] Merkel's open-door approach," helium told CNBC.

"The cardinal quality is that Europeans privation to code these and different challenges by making Europe stronger, not by tearing it apart," Bremmer said.

"European leaders spot this for what it is," helium added.

"If Washington is nary longer aligned with Europe connected values Europeans see essential, past the United States tin nary longer beryllium counted connected arsenic an ally. That's an existential situation for the transatlantic confederation ... What the Europeans are prepared to bash astir it is different substance entirely."