Shona Murray: Europe at risk if it does not become a 'genuine federation'

Now that reality of Donald Trumps second administration has set in, Shona Murray asks what should Europe do?

Former head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, in his much-vaunted report of 2024 urged the EU to finally overcome burdensome obstacles existing among 27 member states delaying the completion of the single market. File picture: AP

ON THE eve of the US election in 2024, EU Commission officials said they were doing necessary preparations in case Trump was returned to the White House. Given his well-worn predilection for tariffs, it was foreseeable he’d threaten to deploy this “very powerful weapon” — like he did in the last administration.

A year on from the second term of Trump and across the EU, member states are accepting that he is not just the irascible, unpredictable — yet manageable — egotist they once knew from 2017-2020.