Will Brussels ever stand up to Donald Trump and US big tech? Its current lack of action is not just a legal or economic failure: it is a moral one. It throws into question the very foundation of Europe’s democratic identity. What is at stake is not merely the fate of Google or Meta, but the principle that Europe has the right to govern its own digital space according to its own laws. If the EU cannot enforce its own laws then it is a vassal to Washington and to Silicon Valley, with Trump as its overlord.
First, let us recount how we got here. In late July the European Commission accepted a humiliating deal with Trump that locked in a permanent 15% tariff on EU exports to the US. Europe received nothing in return. The indignity was all the greater because the commission also agreed to give well over $1tn to the US by way of investments and purchases of energy and military materiel. The deal exposed the fragility of Europe’s dependence on the US. Less than a month later, Trump threatened crushing new tariffs if Europe enforced its laws against US tech firms on its own soil.
