Europe is wrongly positioned

It was supposed to be a historic meeting. After the transatlantic Waterloo at the Munich Security Conference, French President Emmanuel Macron wanted to prepare the Europeans for the next battle - the fight for a just peace in Ukraine. With European peacekeeping troops, he hoped, the EU would still be able to win a place at the negotiating table. This hope was dashed.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sided with Macron: he declared himself ready to provide British troops "if necessary" to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine. But Germany and Poland said no. The debate was premature, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Peace must prevail first, then we can see what happens. The Europeans are divided, and Macron has even divided them. Most EU countries were not even invited to the crisis summit in the Élysée Palace.

With his hasty approach, which also bypassed the Polish EU presidency, Macron has caused more damage than it has achieved. Scholz is right: what is the point of taking the second step before the first? And what is the point of peacekeeping troops in which the USA is not involved? Should the Europeans end up taking the blame while the Americans sneak away? Should they pay the price for a dictated peace that US President Donald Trump negotiated single-handedly with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin?

That can't be it. Macron has positioned his troops incorrectly. But Scholz has also gone too far. The outgoing Chancellor has no plan at all. Just like EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he has relied blindly on former President Joe Biden until the very end and hoped that Putin could be forced to the negotiating table by force of arms. "Negotiations only from a position of strength" was the motto - and it has failed.

The Europeans have hesitated too long

Now a weakened Ukraine must try to make the best of the situation. The Europeans will hardly be able to help them - they have maneuvered themselves into the sidelines. For three years they refused to make a diplomatic move themselves and forge their own peace plans. The initiative could only come from Kyiv, it was said in Brussels.

Now it is coming from Washington - from a US president who is anything but well-disposed towards the EU . However, as far as can be seen, Trump has no plan either. The Europeans could therefore have another chance. Hopefully they will be better positioned then - and will not just rely on weapons, troops and rearmament.