People gather on a hilltop close to the site of clashes near Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026. (AFP)
Europe is facing simultaneous pressure from the wars in Iran and Ukraine, irregular migration and extreme weather, but its larger problem is its limited ability to shape developments that directly affect it, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
Divisions among European governments, gaps in common defense and foreign policy and continued reliance on Washington have frequently left the continent responding to events rather than setting their course, the newspaper said.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries have provided Kiev with extensive financial and military support, imposed sanctions on Moscow and taken in millions of Ukrainians.
Their influence over efforts to end the war, however, has remained limited.
Britain, France, Germany and other countries formed the Coalition of the Willing to protect Ukraine’s interests in any eventual settlement.
The group maintains that “no arrangements regarding European interests and security can be negotiated without Europeans.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, however, has continued direct contacts with Moscow and Kiev, leaving European governments with a limited role in the main diplomatic channel.
The war involving the United States, Israel and Iran has exposed a similar weakness.
The conflict has raised European concerns over energy supplies and higher oil, food and transport costs.
European countries prepared a defensive maritime mission to clear mines and protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but its deployment remained dependent on a ceasefire and stalled as fighting intensified.
Extreme weather has added to the pressure at home.
England and Wales recorded their driest July since records began nearly two centuries ago, while wildfires forced more than 300,000 people from their homes in France and Spain.
Migration has also reopened political divisions.
Tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta last week.
Spanish authorities brought the crossings under control and most of those who entered subsequently returned to Morocco, but the episode triggered another dispute among European Union members over border and migration policy.
According to the Times analysis, the crises have highlighted longer-term structural problems.
Europe still lacks fully developed common defense and foreign policy capabilities, member states remain divided over migration, and the continent trails the United States and China in several strategic technologies.
As a result, Europe continues to bear the economic, security and political consequences of crises over which it has limited influence.
