The Daily Populous Thursday February 20th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by politico.eu and submitted by EUstrongerthanUS

Michael Roth, a member of the center-left Social Democrats, who are running behind the conservative Christian Democrats in polls ahead of Sunday's national election, also described the new U.S. government’s tone as a "worst-case scenario." | EP

As the U.S. aligns with Russia, senior European officials wring their hands in disbelief.

Donald Trump’s verbal assault on Ukraine is a “complete failure” for the transatlantic alliance, according to a senior German lawmaker.

“This is pure Kremlin — and Putin — speech,” said Michael Roth, chairman of the foreign relations committee in the German parliament, after the U.S. president called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and sided with Russia’s narrative about why the war began.

In a morning show Thursday on Germany’s ZDF, Roth said he was surprised at “hearing this propaganda from the White House.”

capitanmanizade on February 20th, 2025 at 14:05 UTC »

I hope Europe can find unity. It’s going to be a challenge with all the foreign actors sowing discord.

Distinct-Document756 on February 20th, 2025 at 14:03 UTC »

The Europeans are already arming themselves.

EUstrongerthanUS on February 20th, 2025 at 13:45 UTC »

SS: Chancellor frontrunner Merz and others are signalling an end to Atlanticism and a pivot to European autarky, especially on the files of defence and geopolitics. This would mark the end of the post-Yalta era in which the US was the main security actor in Europe. It would be a big shift toward a geopolitical Europe that uses autonomous hard power in its foreign policy. And it would mean an end to the remaining "frugal" states and a big leap toward further EU integration, including a Defence Union. Chancellor frontrunner Merz and others are talking about an "Epochenbruch", a epochal shift.