External Narratives Should Not Define What It Means to be European

Political influence is increasingly exercised through stories about identity, belonging and legitimacy. The newly released US National Security Strategy treats Europe not only as a strategic partner but as a space where confidence, sovereignty and democratic purpose are being contested. Author of the European Sentiment Compass, Pawel Zerka’s latest analysis for the European Council on Foreign Relations, where he is a Senior Policy Fellow, shows how this approach functions less as diplomacy and more as ideological pressure aimed at shaping European identity from the outside.

The strategy presents Europe as suffering from regulation, demographic decline and “civilisational erasure”, while openly encouraging the rise of nationalist movements as a positive development. European cooperation is framed as a barrier to freedom and sovereignty. In this narrative, weakening confidence in the European project becomes an objective in its own right.

Zerka argues that Europe cannot meet this challenge with silence or appeasement. Democratic confidence relies on Europeans feeling authorised to define Europe for themselves and on a public sphere protected from manipulation and polarisation. Long-term capabilities in areas such as technology, digital enforcement and collective security are essential if Europeans are to resist external pressure and take responsibility for their own future.

His analysis reminds us that narrative power has material consequences. When meaning is shaped from outside, confidence in cooperation becomes harder to sustain and democratic clarity becomes more fragile.

A complementary analysis from EU Made Simple underscores how this pressure plays out in everyday politics. Trump’s America is exporting its culture wars into the EU, influencing public narratives, shaping political incentives and testing Europe’s democratic resilience. From electoral interference to unequal trade and defence arrangements, these dynamics are reshaping political space. But the same analysis argues that Europe is not without agency. Unity, confidence and a clear commitment to shared democratic values can help counter external pressure and reinforce the civic imagination on which cooperation depends. The video explains what is at stake for Europe’s future and why narrative confidence matters alongside institutional strength.

Photo: US President Trump and President Emmanuel Macron of France participate in a meeting with European leaders in the White House. Image by picture alliance / CNP/AdMedia | CNP/AdMedia ©