Europe does not lack power. But too often, it lacks coherence and therefore appears weak.This contradiction became clearly visible last week. In Böll EU Newsletter 01/2026 (2.0), we take a closer look with Three Questions on the EU MERCOSUR agreement, an updated dossier on EU India relations, an interview on the Democracy Shield initiative, and more.
Dear Friends,
Europe does not lack power. But too often, it lacks coherence and therefore seems weak.
This contradiction became glaringly visible last week.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underlined that Europe remains open to the world. Shortly thereafter, the European Parliament narrowly adopted a resolution calling for a legal opinion from the European Court of Justice on the EU-Mercosur agreement.
Formally, this concerns a legal review. Politically, it functions as a brake and potential delay. Precisely at a moment when Europe needs global partnerships.
Additional discomfort stems from the parliamentary constellation behind the vote: the majority was only possible with the far right, alongside parts of the pro-European centre. This once again exposes the fragility of political majorities in the European Parliament, and the deep fragmentation of Europe’s political space.
In our latest 3 Questions interview, Sven Giegold, Member of the German Green Party’s executive board, reflects on the political implications of this vote for Europe and the Greens.
But the European Parliament is not alone in this. Member States continue to struggle to agree on priorities. As a result, Europe’s institutions operate according to different political logics, timelines and incentives. Even when facing the same geopolitical environment.
External actors prey on this, hoping to deepen European divides. The most common outcome is that Europe hesitates, stalls or muddles through, not because it doesn’t have capacities, but because it falls short when it comes to aligning behind a shared direction and policy.
And too often this looks weak. Europe’s problem is not the absence of power, but the difficulty of organising it. And when it fails, a dangerous spiral emerges: Europe feels weak, hesitates to come together and act, and then reads this failure as further confirmation of its weakness. A self-fulfilling prophecy.
Reflecting on Trump’s Greenland threat, Ursula von der Leyen highlighted four ingredients that contributed to Trump’s climbdown: firmness, unity, preparedness and willingness to engage. This, together with a “Sell America” sentiment that unsettled markets, was crucial.
Europe doesn’t lack power. But it too often underestimates and underorganises it, due to divisions.
That’s why, as of today, we are kicking off a new LinkedIn series called #ProudEU. We want to counter the narrative that systematically talks Europe down. So, over the coming weeks, we will highlight Europe’s strengths, its challenges, and the strategic choices it faces in a more confrontational world.
In the meantime, following this week’s historic EU-India summit, I invite you to explore our updated EU-India Dossier. You can also read MEP Hannah Neumann’s assessment of the protests in Iran, and our interview on Europe’s democracy shield with Alice Stollmeyer (Defend Democracy) and MEP Alexandra Geese.
Warm regards,
