The split among European countries over Ukraine is deepening

Many in Europe are hopeful that if anyone can help reconcile the sharply deteriorating relationship between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, including their disputes over Ukraine, it is Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Tusk, for the first time since his re-election, will join French and German leaders at a trilateral summit in Berlin on Friday, as explained by Politico.

But despite Tusk’s extensive diplomatic experience, considering his years serving as the head of the European Council, disagreements between Paris and Berlin on key issues in European security and foreign policy are too significant, the article emphasizes. This is evidenced by the recent conflicting statements from Scholz and Macron, who expressed diametrically opposed positions regarding the dispatch of a NATO military contingent to Ukraine, among other issues.

Furthermore, the leaders of France and Germany also represent polar opposite political currents in Europe: Scholz calls himself the “chancellor of peace,” while Macron has decided to take a tougher stance toward Russia to counter leaders of the far-right “National Rally.” This conflict arises at an extremely inappropriate moment, considering the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the US presidency and his scandalous remarks about NATO. However, all these disagreements are unlikely to disappear after the summit, concludes Politico.