Europe’s Place on the Global Chessboard

The EU-U.S. trade deal concluded in July and the EU-China summit held the same month highlighted Europe’s weakening position on the global chessboard. Rym Momtaz, Rosa Balfour, and Erik Jones unpack why European leaders struggle to play power politics and explore what it will take for the EU to regain strategic agency. [00:00:00] Intro, [00:01:54] Europe's Summer of Delusion, [00:14:18] Prospects for EU Institutional Reform [00:24:18] Europe's Quest for a Strategic VisionRosa Balfour, April 30, 2025, “Europe Tried to Trump-Proof Itself. Now It’s Crafting a Plan B,” Emissary, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Rosa Balfour, March 25, 2025, “The Case for Europe,” Carnegie Europe.Rosa Balfour, Sinan Ülgen, November 28, 2024, “Europe’s Fledgling Economic Statecraft and the Trump Challenge,” Strategic Europe, Carnegie Europe.Rosa Balfour, Erik Jones, et al., November 19, 2024, “Geopolitics and Economic Statecraft in the European Union,” Carnegie Europe.Erik Jones, July 17, 2025, “Betting on Europe,” Strategic Europe, Carnegie Europe.Erik Jones, Gideon Rose, June 23, 2025, “Europe’s Two-Front War,” Foreign Affairs.Erik Jones, November 6, 2024, “How Draghi and Letta May Help in Dealing With Trump,” Encompass.Rym Momtaz et al., August 28, 2025, “Taking the Pulse: With Trump, Has Europe Capitulated?,” Strategic Europe, Carnegie Europe.Rym Momtaz, August 26, 2025, “Europe’s Summer of Trump Delusion,” Strategic Europe, Carnegie Europe.Rym Momtaz et al., July 24, 2025, “Taking the Pulse: Does the EU-China Summit Show a Weakened European Hand with Beijing?,” Strategic Europe, Carnegie Europe.Rym Momtaz, July 15, 2025, “Europe’s Claim to Geopolitical Power Isn’t Passing the Trump Test,” Strategic Europe, Carnegie Europe.