Europe has ‘failed’ in the face of Trump and Putin’s ‘wrecking ball’ politics, top security official says
Published Fri, Feb 13 20264:58 AM ESTUpdated 51 Min Ago
Chloe Taylor@ChloeTaylor141
ShareShare Article via FacebookShare Article via TwitterShare Article via LinkedInShare Article via Email
Key Points
Europe is “totally on the sidelines” on the global stage as “wrecking ball” politics become the norm, according to the head of the continent’s biggest security forum.
Wolfgang Ischinger, chair of the Munich Security Conference, told CNBC that this is the continent’s “own fault,” saying it has “failed to speak with one voice.”
“Why the hell do we not have a place at the table? This is our continent. It’s our future,” Ischinger said.
US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 23, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images
Europe is “totally on the sidelines” on the global stage as “wrecking ball” politics has become the norm, the head of the continent’s biggest security forum has said.
Speaking to CNBC’s Annette Weisbach ahead of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Wolfgang Ischinger, the organization’s chairman, said it was Europe’s “own fault” that its power on the global stage has been diminished.
“Europe has failed to speak with one voice to China and about China, Europe has failed with one voice, to come up with a clear concept about the future of the Middle East, including about how to deal or not to deal with the Iranian nuclear question,” said Ischinger, who is a former German ambassador to the U.S.
Earlier this week, the MSC published its 2026 report, for which Ischinger wrote the foreword. It warned that “the world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics,” where “sweeping destruction … is the order of the day.”
The report said that U.S President Donald Trump was “at the forefront of those who promise to free their countries from the existing order’s constraints and rebuild stronger, more prosperous nations,” arguing he was just one movement “driven by resentment and regret over the liberal trajectory their societies have embarked on.”
Ischinger told CNBC that Europeans were “totally on the sidelines” on negotiations around Gaza and Ukraine.
“We have no role. Things have been decided by others,” he said. “When I look at the war in Ukraine, Europe has no place,” he said, adding the U.S. and Russia were leading discussions.
U.S. delegates have been helming peace talks with officials from Ukraine and Russia since late 2025, with European officials scrambling to maintain a say on how to end the four-year war between the two countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment