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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Peter Pomerantsev

How do we make Europe more secure? Here are five steps we need to take now

A participant holds a sign reading 'Europe, can you protect yourself?' during an anti-Putin demonstration in Berlin, Germany, on 1 March.
A participant holds a sign reading 'Europe, can you protect yourself?' during an anti-Putin demonstration in Berlin, Germany, on 1 March. Photograph: Hannes P Albert/AP

It’s exhausting and humiliating to have no control – watching every meeting in the Oval Office for a glimmer of Trump’s approval or displeasure, our security resting on a perceived slight or a mood.

The last week of meetings between Trump, Macron, Starmer and finally Zelenskyy always felt like crawling across a minefield. Some might agonise about whether Zelenskyy could have played things differently. It’s the wrong question. The point is that we can’t carry on being so dependent on every meeting at the White House. Until we start taking charge of our future, we will always be one heart palpitation away from dreading doomsday.

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