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Will the EU ever resist the US administration and US big tech? The current passivity goes beyond a regulatory or financial failure: it represents a moral collapse. This inaction throws into question the very foundation of the EU's democratic identity. What is at stake is not merely the future of companies like Google or Meta, but the principle that Europe has the authority to govern its own digital space according to its own regulations.

The Path to This Point

To begin, consider the events leading here. In late July, the European Commission agreed to a one-sided deal with the US that established a ongoing 15% tariff on EU exports to the US. The EU gained no concessions in return. The indignity was compounded because the EU also agreed to provide well over $1tn to the US through financial commitments and acquisitions of resources and defense equipment. This arrangement revealed the fragility of Europe's reliance on the US.

Less than a month later, Trump threatened crushing new tariffs if Europe implemented its laws against US tech firms on its own soil.

The Gap Between Rhetoric and Action

Over many years EU officials has claimed that its economic zone of 450 million rich people gives it unanswerable sway in trade negotiations. But in the six weeks since Trump's threat, Europe has taken minimal action. No retaliatory measure has been implemented. No activation of the new trade defense tool, the often described “trade bazooka” that the EU once promised would be its ultimate shield against external coercion.

Instead, we have diplomatic language and a fine on Google of under 1% of its yearly income for established market abuses, previously established in US courts, that enabled it to “exploit” its dominant position in the EU's digital ad space.

American Strategy

The US, under Trump's leadership, has signaled its goals: it no longer seeks to strengthen EU institutions. It aims to weaken it. A recent essay released on the US State Department website, written in alarmist, inflammatory language similar to Viktor Orbán's speeches, accused Europe of “an aggressive campaign against Western civilization itself”. It condemned alleged limitations on authoritarian parties across the EU, from German political movements to PiS in Poland.

The Solution: Anti-Coercion Instrument

What is to be done? The EU's anti-coercion instrument works by calculating the degree of the pressure and imposing retaliatory measures. If EU member states agree, the European Commission could kick US products out of the EU market, or apply taxes on them. It can strip their patents and copyrights, block their financial activities and demand reparations as a condition of re-entry to Europe's market.

The tool is not merely financial response; it is a statement of determination. It was designed to demonstrate that the EU would always resist external pressure. But now, when it is most crucial, it lies unused. It is not the powerful weapon promised. It is a paperweight.

Political Divisions

In the months preceding the EU-US trade deal, several EU states talked tough in official statements, but failed to push for the mechanism to be used. Some nations, including Ireland and Italy, openly advocated a softer European line.

A softer line is the last thing that the EU needs. It must implement its regulations, even when they are challenging. In addition to the anti-coercion instrument, Europe should shut down social media “for you”-style systems, that recommend material the user has not requested, on European soil until they are demonstrated to be secure for democratic societies.

Broader Digital Strategy

Citizens – not the automated systems of international billionaires beholden to foreign interests – should have the autonomy to make independent choices about what they view and distribute online.

Trump is pressuring the EU to water down its online regulations. But now especially important, Europe should hold American technology companies accountable for anti-competitive market rigging, surveillance practices, and preying on our children. Brussels must hold certain member states responsible for failing to enforce EU digital rules on US firms.

Enforcement is insufficient, however. Europe must progressively replace all non-EU “big tech” platforms and cloud services over the coming years with European solutions.

The Danger of Inaction

The real danger of this moment is that if Europe does not take immediate action, it will never act again. The longer it waits, the more profound the erosion of its confidence in itself. The more it will believe that resistance is futile. The more it will accept that its regulations are not binding, its governmental bodies not sovereign, its political system not self-determined.

When that occurs, the route to undemocratic rule becomes inevitable, through automated influence on social media and the normalisation of misinformation. If the EU continues to remain passive, it will be pulled toward that same abyss. Europe must act now, not only to resist Trump, but to create space for itself to function as a free and sovereign entity.

Global Implications

And in doing so, it must make a statement that the rest of the world can see. In North America, Asia and Japan, democracies are observing. They are wondering if the EU, the last bastion of liberal multilateralism, will resist external influence or surrender to it.

They are asking whether representative governments can endure when the most powerful democracy in the world abandons them. They also see the model of Lula in Brazil, who confronted US pressure and showed that the approach to address a aggressor is to hit hard.

But if the EU hesitates, if it continues to issue polite statements, to impose symbolic penalties, to anticipate a improved situation, it will have already lost.