That the world has been spinning at double or triple speed since Donald Trump’s return to the White House is something that European leaders are well aware of. Just like the Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal, 50, they are all trying to maintain their composure and stay on course amidst Washington’s dangerous accelerations. Since the liberal politician sat down with EL PAÍS in Nicosia last Friday during the summit that brought together EU leaders for the first time since the start of Trump’s latest military adventure in the Middle East, the fragile truce with Iran is threatening to collapse, Washington has issued further threats against its European allies, and Trump himself has been the victim of another assassination attempt.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez responded to reports that the Pentagon had considered suspending Spain from NATO by stressing that Spain is a “loyal partner” that meets its “responsibilities” within the Alliance — always, he said, “within the framework of international law.” For that reason, he added, the government feels “completely at ease.”

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Rebuilding Gaza will require a collective effort and substantial financial resources: according to official estimates from the EU, the UN, and the World Bank, the cost of the Strip’s recovery from the devastation wrought by the Israeli military offensive in response to the Hamas-led attacks of October 2023 amounts to $71.4 billion over the next decade. Even more challenging will be restoring human capabilities and dignity: the damage assessment estimates that human development has regressed 77 years due to the setbacks caused by the conflict in terms of living conditions, livelihoods and income, food security, gender equality, and social inclusion.

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The world is beginning to lose count of the times Donald Trump has threatened in recent days to abandon NATO and leave his European allies in the lurch for refusing to follow him in his poorly planned military adventure in Iran. This is especially true because they have restricted the use of military bases on European soil — not only Spain, but also France, the United Kingdom, and even Italy have placed limits or conditions on the use of these facilities or prohibited military aircraft from flying over their airspace en route to the Middle East — for a war about which they weren’t even warned. The U.S. president’s threats have been so numerous that his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, warned him this week: “If the commitment is questioned every day, it loses its meaning.”

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