The EU’s strategy with Trump is to play for time. The summit on energy, tariffs and Ukraine

Brussels. Donald Trump boasts of his ‘art of the deal’, despite the results being increasingly questionable. The European Union hopes to weather the consequences of Trump’s betrayals through its “art of stalling”. At the European Council meeting tomorrow and on Friday, many of the items on the agenda are a direct or indirect consequence of the US President’s decisions. The energy price crisis triggered by the war against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will take up a significant part of the first day of the summit.

Europeans are being forced to erect trade barriers against China, partly because Chinese exports have been diverted to Europe following the tariff war launched by Trump against Beijing. But no issue is more pressing than Ukraine. Heads of state and government will hold talks on Friday with Volodymyr Zelenskyy seated at the Council table. The diesel deal struck by Trump with Vladimir Putin, the call for a change of president in Kyiv, and the threat to cut arms sales and intelligence-sharing directly threaten not only Ukraine but also European security interests.

Does the EU have a strategy? To play for time, limit the damage, hope to convince Trump that Putin is pulling his leg, and wait for the storm to pass. “We have already found ourselves in this situation where statements or measures have come from the United States with which we disagree,” a senior EU official explains to Il Foglio: “What is our reaction? When problems arise, we deal with them. As regards support for Ukraine and relations with the United States, we are engaged in dialogue and will continue to be so, because there is no better alternative.”

The EU’s immediate response to the diesel deal between Trump and Putin was to carry on as if nothing had happened. No direct criticism of the US president. The Commission stated that the EU would continue its phase-out of Russian hydrocarbons and announced further funding for Ukraine. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, ordered the interception of a vessel from Russia’s shadow fleet more than 400 miles from the island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean.

On Monday, several leaders and the High Representative, Kaja Kallas, said they supported the ‘energy truce’ announced by Trump, but stressed that it had been immediately violated by Russia. Yesterday, the German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, said that ‘this is not the time to ease the sanctions regime, but rather to strengthen it’. Yesterday, two blocks of negotiation chapters were also opened to advance Kyiv’s accession process.

On Friday, the European Council is expected to reaffirm its support for Zelensky, pledge to increase pressure on Russia and announce that the EU will do everything possible to supply air defence systems and missiles. Behind the scenes, European officials and national diplomats acknowledge that Trump’s decision undermines the joint strategy pursued with the United States since the start of the war: to raise the costs for Russia in order to persuade Putin to accept a ceasefire.

However, political leaders hope that by buying time through dialogue, the new storm will blow over after the November mid-term elections. With Trump, “we engage in dialogue even when we disagree and, as we have seen in the past, very often that dialogue has enabled us to stabilise relations and achieve positive results”, explains the senior EU official.

The art of stalling has enabled the EU to avoid the worst in the 2025 tariff war. The agreement reached by Ursula von der Leyen is disadvantageous for Europeans, but not to the extent of prohibitive tariffs capable of paralysing transatlantic trade. The Europeans managed to thwart Trump’s plan to ban diesel exports by agreeing to release part of their strategic reserves, as they had already committed to doing in March. The EU also chose to play for time regarding the Trump administration’s sanctions against the International Criminal Court, refraining from immediately invoking the blocking clause to neutralise their effects.

But when it comes to Ukraine, there is a limit to the art of stalling. After almost five years of war, the EU has still not managed to develop autonomous intelligence capabilities or sufficient production of air defence systems to ensure that Kyiv can defend itself. The 27 Member States are also finding it increasingly difficult to agree on new sanctions against Russia. Stalling with Trump has become synonymous with a lack of alternatives.