As Washington openly redefines Europe as a subordinate rather than a partner, Brussels persists in the language of alliance. This growing mismatch between American strategy and European self-perception is turning the transatlantic relationship into a dangerous illusion.

The 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) crystallizes this shift. Europe is no longer treated as a co-architect of the international order, but as a space to be disciplined, reformed, or bypassed. The European Union’s refusal to acknowledge this reality has produced a deeply schizophrenic relationship: Europe continues to speak the language of alliance, while the United States increasingly practices a politics of hierarchy, conditionality, and interference.

In the following sections, drawing on Biscop’s argument, I argue that the transatlantic alliance, as historically understood, has effectively ended. What remains is an asymmetric and unstable relationship in which Europe behaves as a dependent actor, while Washington no longer conceives of Europe as an ally but as a subordinate whose autonomy is undesirable. The persistence of European denial of this reality not only weakens the EU’s strategic position but also accelerates its geopolitical marginalization.

The End of the Alliance: From Rhetoric to Doctrine

Donald Trump’s hostility towards Europe is not new. During his first presidency, he repeatedly described the European Union as an economic adversary and accused European states of free-riding on American security guarantees.

What distinguishes the current moment is that this hostility has moved from rhetoric to doctrine. The 2025 National Security Strategy represents a qualitative break with post-war transatlantic orthodoxy. Europe is no longer framed as a pillar of American global leadership but as a region whose internal political and social dynamics allegedly threaten Western civilization itself, according to the NSS.

The NSS explicitly calls on European states to assume “primary responsibility” for their own defence, signaling the end of unconditional U.S. security guarantees. Support is........

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