The famous Davos Forum, with its long-standing historical contribution to examining global issues—including the well-known Greek-Turkish relations—and seeking solutions to international crises, did not disappoint this year.
It marked the definitive end of the era that followed World War II, an era that established the foundations of the Western Alliance. This is what we generally referred to as the West, under the leadership of the United States via NATO, which largely ensured harmonious cooperation between Europeans and Americans.
Europeans, of course, had acknowledged that the main responsibility for the Alliance’s defense policy rested with the Americans. And all this held until the unpredictable Trump appeared, with his well-known reversals, disrupting this relationship—initially taking an aggressive stance toward Europeans and later retracting it in Davos.
The Question of What Comes Next
The key question now is where do we go from here? While Davos clearly signaled the end of an era, it did not reveal the beginning of the next one. It is extremely difficult to predict the outcome when even the most US-friendly allies—such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany—are now openly questioning Trump’s positions.
This became particularly evident in the speeches of these countries’ leaders at Davos, who clearly advocated the urgent need for an independent European defense and for the continued effective functioning of international organizations—organizations Trump openly disregards and from which he has already withdrawn from many.
Trump now threatens the UN with the creation of the highly controversial Peace Council which was originally established solely to restore peace in Gaza.
Europeans (with the usual exceptions of leaders from Hungary and Bulgaria) have indicated their refusal to join this body, supporting the position of Greece, which currently sits on the UN Security Council, that the Peace Council’s actions should be limited to Gaza.
Gaza and the Realities on the Ground
In Gaza, Washington, under Trump’s son-in-law, has developed a well-known plan to transform this troubled area into a “Mediterranean Riviera” with Dubai-style skyscrapers and other luxurious developments.
Yet the priority should be clearing the vast rubble in the region, which is creating a massive housing problem for the suffering Palestinian population—people who do not dream of skyscrapers but simply search for a piece of bread and a place to rest their heads.
This, however, is Trump’s mentality: as a true real estate mogul, profit is all that matters. Unfortunately, it is within this stifling atmosphere, created by the president’s megalomania, that Europeans are now called upon to overcome their internal disagreements, which until now have led to an ineffective overall stance, in order to unite and face Trump and his reversals with strength and cohesion.
