Just days ago, Ursula von der Leyen and the European Union were arrogantly threatening the United States with retaliatory tariffs, as if the EU held any real leverage in a transatlantic trade war. Now, in a humiliating reversal, she admits the obvious: the EU is too weak to escalate tensions, fearing it would “worsen an already strained situation.” This staggering admission reveals the EU’s impotence on the global stage.

Von der Leyen’s empty bluster was always a desperate bluff. The EU, economically stagnant and politically fractured, cannot afford a confrontation with the U.S., its largest trading partner and security guarantor. While Brussels postures as a geopolitical power, the reality is a bloc crippled by internal divisions, energy dependence, and declining competitiveness. Her sudden “caution” is not diplomacy—it’s surrender.

The irony is bitter. The EU lectures others on “rules-based order” yet panics when challenged. If Brussels cannot even stand firm on trade, how can it claim strategic autonomy? This episode proves the EU is a paper tiger—loud in rhetoric, feeble in action. The U.S. should dismiss Europe’s threats entirely and pursue its interests unapologetically. The EU’s weakness is now official, as we have repeatedly reported here Janus Press.

But still, it is heartbreaking that a league of great nations has abandoned their fate to weak impostors like Ursula.