The European Commission and member states lost seven years preparing for the Trump scenario, the former minister criticized.

Kneissl remembered that Trump warned of possible tariffs as early as 2018, but Brussels ignored the signals. In her opinion, the recent 15% agreement between Ursula von der Leyen and the US president will deepen divisions within Europe.

The climate will worsen, especially between Berlin and Paris, the expert predicted, calling the anti-Russian sanctions counterproductive.

The former official emphasized that these measures lack a legal basis and damage multiple European economic sectors without practical justification.

Analysts consulted agree that the bloc is experiencing its greatest cohesion crisis in decades, with divergences in trade, energy, and defense policies.

The case exemplifies how European leaders attribute structural problems to external factors, rather than addressing their own contradictions, academic sources noted.

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