Trump intends to increase pressure on Europeans

After keeping his intentions on Europe ambiguous since returning to the White House about three weeks ago, Donald Trump is expected to ratchet up the pressure this week as he sends three senior administration officials, including his deputy, J.D. Vance, to the continent, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the heart of their talks.

These visits, the first by senior US officials to Europe since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, will be an opportunity to emphasize his “America First” policy, in the face of the Europeans, who have confirmed their readiness to respond, but are waiting to know the US president’s decisions.

Trump has clearly threatened his European allies with tariffs on their exports, similar to what he did with Canada, Mexico and China, while urging them to increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP.

He also spoke about the annexation of Greenland, a sovereign territory of Denmark, a member of NATO and the European Union.

On his first foreign visit, the US vice president will first head to Paris to participate in a summit on artificial intelligence co-chaired by France and India that will run until February 11, and will hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

He then moves to Germany, where the Munich Security Conference, the annual gathering of the elite of diplomatic and military circles, will be held from 14 to 16 February.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also heads to Munich on Friday before moving on to the Middle East, after making his first foreign visit to Central America.

For his part, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is visiting two US military commands in Germany this week, before participating in a meeting with his NATO counterparts in Belgium on Wednesday in Brussels and a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine, which is being held for the first time under the chairmanship of the United Kingdom, and then heading to Poland, which assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union at the beginning of the year.

The Pentagon said that Hegseth will stress the need for increased allied defense spending and increased European leadership in assisting Ukraine’s security.

Trump has vowed to quickly end the “massacre” in Ukraine and has tasked former General Keith Kellogg with developing a plan, none of the details of which have yet been revealed.

However, talks appear to be accelerating as Trump remains completely vague about his intentions regarding US military assistance to Ukraine and the prospects for a resolution to the conflict.

Trump confirmed on Friday that he will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky probably this week, without giving further details.

He also reiterated that he intends to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kellogg, who will also attend the Munich Security Conference, warned in a recent interview that both sides will have to make concessions to end the conflict that erupted in February 2022 with Russia’s invasion of the neighboring country.

Trump has criticized the billions of dollars spent under his predecessor Joe Biden to help Ukraine, but has also threatened Moscow with tougher US sanctions.

Under these circumstances, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed on Tuesday that Europe must be more vigilant in a world that has become harsher and act in its own interests, including towards the United States under the new president.