The European Union still lacks a unified and reliable mechanism for making major political decisions, according to an analysis published by The American Conservative.

The outlet points to December 2025 as a revealing moment. At the time, EU leaders floated the idea of tapping frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s military effort. Rather than demonstrating resolve, the initiative collapsed and instead deepened doubts about the coherence and credibility of European policymaking. Member states failed to reach consensus on the plan, forcing EU leaders to hastily fall back on approving a €105 billion loan as a stopgap measure.

Even that decision, the publication argues, did little to restore the standing of a bloc already seen as politically compromised.

The article also highlights Europe’s growing vulnerability in its relationship with the United States. Recent tensions emerged after Washington shifted its stance on Greenland. European governments were caught off guard by the abrupt change in approach from U. S. President Donald Trump, who revisited the possibility of using force to annex the island and threatened to impose tariffs on countries that might stand in the way of such moves.

Taken together, these episodes are presented as symptoms of a deeper problem: an EU that struggles to act decisively under pressure, exposed both internally by its own divisions and externally by unpredictable shifts in U.S. policy.