In “Trump vs Europe,” MEP Aurore Lalucq defends a self-assured European sovereignty against the return of the American president to power and geopolitical fractures. A compelling essay.
Aurore Lalucq sees Donald Trump’s return to the White House as a harsh wake-up call to European vulnerabilities and an opportunity for Europeans to awaken. In her essay “Trump vs Europe: How to Stay Free?” published by Les Petits Matins editions, the French MEP makes a case for a Europe capable of defending its economic, industrial, and strategic interests independently.
Aurore Lalucq, an economist by training, president of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic Affairs, and co-president of Place publique, argues that the EU, like with Vladimir Putin, underestimated Donald Trump’s political impact and the coherence of his project behind his bombastic statements since his re-election in November 2024. She believes that Trump’s blunt discourse reveals a deliberate attempt to keep Europe in a lasting state of dependency.
She describes a vulnerable EU in strategic sectors such as energy dependency, the dominance of American tech giants, fragile industrial supply chains, and a defense heavily reliant on the United States. Lalucq attributes this situation not to economic inevitability but to political choices made over several decades.
In response, Lalucq advocates for a form of European “economic mobilization,” akin to Mario Draghi’s approach. Her book advocates for industrial planning in critical sectors, a European preference in public markets, and a more aggressive use of the EU’s trade tools. She also suggests leveraging European financial instruments for defense investments.
This discourse on sovereignty aligns with a broader political commitment. In recent weeks, Lalucq has supported French judge Nicolas Guillou of the International Criminal Court, sanctioned by the U.S. for issuing an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu. Lalucq criticizes the political pressure imposed by the U.S., which she deems incompatible with the independence of European justice. This stance reflects her book’s core message of defending a Europe capable of resisting power dynamics imposed by major powers.
“Trump vs Europe” aims to place the issue of strategic autonomy at the heart of European debate, acknowledging internal divisions within the EU and the political challenges of her proposals.
(“Trump vs Europe: How to Stay Free?” by Aurore Lalucq. Editions Les Petits Matins. 136 pages, 14 euros.)
