THE new President of the United States, Donald Trump, is upending liberal democracy, spreading ‘alternative facts’ and smashing civilised values.

His Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin makes no secret of his disdain for an EU which has put sanctions on Russia. He sees Nato as the enemy and is also not known for respecting human rights or democracy.

Given their private mutual admiration club, the question many in Europe are asking is if Trump and Putin also share an agenda for destabilising the EU.

And, even more worryingly, are they encouraging, promoting and partnering with Europe’s own populist parties which are also against the EU and share the two leaders’ nationalist agendas?

It would appear so.

“Putin could not have wished for a better ally in Washington,” according to Judy Dempsey, an analyst at Carnegie Europe. “Putin’s goal has always been to split the transatlantic alliance and weaken the EU. Now Trump is doing Moscow favours as the US president challenges the very foundations of Western liberal and security order.”

The fear in Brussels is that Russia will be meddling in crucial upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany.

Many of Europe’s far-right parties are known for their close relations with both Trump and Putin and there is speculation that Moscow has financed at least some of the European populists.

And even more dangerously for Europe, it’s not only the populists in opposition who admire Trump and Putin, so do some of the leaders of EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosted Putin this week. Orban is also an admirer of Trump and has several times said that the “European project” has stopped in its tracks.

Trump has openly celebrated Brexit, with his likely pick for ambassador to the EU, Ted Malloch, recently telling the BBC that he was looking forward to being in Brussels because he had previously “helped bring down the Soviet Union. So maybe there’s another union that needs a little taming”.

Warning about Europe’s future were made this week by none other than Donald Tusk, the president of the EU Council of Ministers.

Tusk who is a former prime minister of Poland, warned EU leaders this week: “United we stand, divided we fall.”

“The challenges currently facing the European Union are more dangerous than ever before in the time since the signature of the Treaty of Rome,” Tusk underlined.

“For the first time in our history, in an increasingly multipolar external world, so many are becoming openly anti-European, or eurosceptic at best. Particularly the change in Washington puts the European Union in a difficult situation; with the new administration seeming to put into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy,” he added.

Europe must stand up very clearly for “our dignity, the dignity of a united Europe — regardless of whether we are talking to Russia, China, the US or Turkey”, he insisted, adding: “It must be made crystal clear that the disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China. Only together can we be fully independent.”

Tusk’s unexpectedly strong statement reflects a growing concern in Brussels and other EU capitals that many in the bloc are being seduced by the siren songs of Brexit, Trump and Putin.

To counter the temptation to go solo, policymakers in Brussels believe the EU should use the 60th Treaty of Rome anniversary on March 25 and elections in the Netherlands, France, Germany and possibly Italy, to forge a new and inspirational narrative to counter populist rhetoric and reconnect with citizens.

They warn that individual EU governments and leaders who think they can forge bilateral bonds with Washington should learn from British Prime Minister Theresa May. Even holding the president’s hand and showering him with compliments is no guarantee he will spare you major embarrassment just hours later.

The message is clear: the complexity of challenges in the 21st Century and the arrival of Trump in the US means that Europe can no longer count on Washington for support and especially security.

“In a world full of tension and confrontation, what needed is courage, determination and political solidarity of Europeans. Without them we will not survive,” said Tusk, adding: “If we do not believe in ourselves, in the deeper purpose of integration, why should anyone else?”

The question is important, even vital, but one that not many EU leaders can answer.

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Brussels

Published in Dawn February 4th, 2017