In the first part of the article, we saw how the European continent managed to save its union from planned marginalization by great powers. In this second part, we analyze European empowerment and its return to a distinguished position. The latest news came from the White House last week with a photo of the US President and the President of the European Union, Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen. This meeting was requested by the Europeans to discuss ways to ease the tariffs imposed by Trump on all goods exported from European countries to the United States, which particularly harmed France due to its exports of fine alcoholic beverages such as champagne, tons of famous cosmetics, and luxury clothing produced by institutions like Dior, consumed by wealthy Americans.

The US and the EU reached a trade agreement on Sunday, ending the trade confrontation between the world’s main economic partners over recent months. The agreement followed decisive negotiations between US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It includes imposing a 15% US tariff on all goods from the EU, representing a reduction from the threatened 30% tariffs. Trump confirmed that the 27-member EU will open its markets to American exporters with full tariff exemptions on some products. Von der Leyen praised the agreement, stating it will “bring stability to both allies,” who together represent nearly a third of global trade. We must also note the reactions of some major economic powers to this Washington-Brussels agreement. Russia was the first to call the agreement illusory, of course because it was not consulted and due to the special relationship between Presidents Trump and Putin.

Moscow seemed to consider this agreement between historic allies a stab in the back, especially since Trump announced at the time of signing that he decided to reduce the deadline given to the Russian president to end his war on Ukraine from three months to fifty days! This led the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman to declare that the US president confused things and maps, thinking Russia is a state within the US. Russian Vice President Dmitry Medvedev further angered the situation, saying to TASS agency: “We are not Israel nor Iran, and we consider your warnings a step towards war between us.” China did not comment on the agreement at all because it does not concern or affect its economic interests. Previously, a treaty was signed between Washington and Beijing regulating customs dealings between the two giants on the basis of reciprocal tariffs.

China has reached the level of the strongest manufacturing and exporting country, equal to the US, for two decades. The logic of parity prevails, as the Arab saying goes, “Long live he who knows his worth!” As expected, the harshest reaction came from the occupying entity (Israel), which summoned the French ambassador to reprimand him, an expression violating basic diplomatic norms. The French ambassador, together with the French foreign minister, responded by saying: “We are a permanent member of the Security Council, and no one is allowed to lecture us because our international relations are based on UN legitimacy and ethical dealings with all countries, meaning recognizing the rights of peoples to choose the best ways to organize their political life.

Since the Palestinian people chose a state living alongside Israel, they have that right based on the two-state solution logic.” In the second round of the joint peace conference between Paris and Riyadh last week, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud held a press point confirming their commitment to the two-state solution and considering Israeli actions in Gaza a violation of the laws of war and a departure from peace. They confirmed that 14 Arab and Western countries will join the recognition of the State of Palestine in the coming September.

It is worth mentioning that the Netherlands took a more severe step by deciding to punish two Israeli ministers by banning them from entering Holland (the hardliners Ben Gvir and Smotrich, known for pushing Netanyahu to continue his brutal war on Gaza that stirred global consciences and isolated Israel, tarnishing its democratic reputation). Despite the Israeli Prime Minister’s harsh condemnation of the European move, calling it anti-Semitic, this label no longer convinces anyone, as even senior former Israeli officials have not escaped this label.

Also, prominent global figures of Jewish origin, such as the famous sociologist Edgar Morin (over 100 years old), archaeologist Israel Finkelstein (author of a groundbreaking book scientifically criticizing old theories about the origins of “Bani Israel” to save what remains of the historical biblical narrative’s reputation), and renowned linguist Noam Chomsky (author of ten valuable books exposing Israeli propaganda deception using biblical theology to justify the creation of a Hebrew state replacing an indigenous people with an alien one, a philosophy Chomsky considers misleading and still justifying the extremists’ genocidal war in Gaza to this day in 2025; Chomsky is still fighting fanaticism and historical falsification at age 94).

Regarding some European and especially French lobby positions, since French President Emmanuel Macron initiated the recognition, a lengthy article in the Parisian right-wing newspaper Le Figaro questioned whether President Macron carefully calculated the gains and losses for his country and people or threw himself and all of us into a reckless adventure that will bring a global disaster difficult to predict, especially since his decision to recognize the State of Palestine was not made in consultation with our biggest and most important ally, President Trump, who did not ally with great powers against European interests but stood behind the return of our European Union to its leading role in a changing world of shifting maps and influence. This makes us fear the consequences of Macron’s initiative sooner or later (end of Le Figaro statement).

We Arabs and Muslims are affected by every Western move in the Middle East, where most of our countries praised and supported the French president’s decision, considering it a decision that serves peace, ends the war, qualifies Palestine to reject extremism, and forces Israel to reorganize its policies to allow its upcoming legislative elections, which Netanyahu manipulates by canceling the current coalition that produced the most extremist Israeli governments refusing to engage in the peaceful states system.