I have this feeling that I can’t shake off that this is done as the EU political class’ coping mechanism for being absolutely terrified because their whole worldview was shattered overnight:

- Sanctions against Russia backfired (from the EU at least)

- Trump-Vance slapping the EU around in a humiliating fashion (re: that guy that cried at the Munich security council, EU being forced to adopt unfair trade deals with the US)

- look at the body language from Macron, VDL and Xi’s meeting a couple years ago, VDL is being sidelined on purpose, meanwhile Macron given royal treatment

Liberalism is dead, and these career bureaucrats are clinging to any remaining feeling of control:

- they can’t do the antitrust thing because Trump is wagging his finger at them

- they can’t project power externally

- they can’t engage with China (idk why, maybe due to their feeling of superiority)

… so they resort to projecting power internally