Europe Rushes to Build Financial Shields as Trump Threatens Payment System Cut-Off

Europe Rushes to Build Financial Shields as Trump Threatens Payment System Cut-Off European leaders and financial experts are urgently pushing for the creation of a continent-wide payments system, driven by fears that a potential second Donald Trump presidency could see the United States weaponize its control over global financial networks [58480]. The stark warning follows Trump's recent admonition for Europe to "correct its current trajectory," raising alarms that he could follow the precedent set after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when Moscow was disconnected from Visa and Mastercard [58480]. This vulnerability has sparked a strategic shift, with calls for an "Airbus of European payments" to safeguard the bloc's economic sovereignty [58480]. The move is part of a broader, hurried reassessment of Europe's deep dependencies on the United States, spanning defense, technology, and finance [58069]. The discussion is no longer theoretical. Some European investors have already begun quietly selling off holdings of U.S. government bonds, a signal of a possible, gradual financial "divorce" intended to limit economic exposure to future U.S. policy shocks [58095]. Analysts note that while a full decoupling of the deeply intertwined U.S. and European economies is impossible, each financial and technological link represents a critical pressure point [57344]. The threat extends beyond pure finance to the digital realm, where Europe's reliance on American cloud computing, software, and social media platforms complicates any attempt to assert regulatory or strategic independence [58167]. This dependence makes the goal of "digital sovereignty"—controlling its own digital infrastructure—both urgent and exceedingly difficult to achieve [58171]. In response to these compounded risks, a clear consensus is emerging among policymakers: Europe must rapidly convert its economic weight into actionable geopolitical power [58069]. This includes significantly boosting its own defense spending and building stronger independent partnerships to create a more balanced relationship with Washington, regardless of who occupies the White House [58069]. Trump Could Cut Off Europe's Cards, Warns EU Lawmaker Europe Considers Financial "Divorce" from Trump-Led US Europe's Trump Test: Time to Use Its Own Power Europe's Digital Dilemma: Reliant on US Tech It Seeks to Curb Europe's Digital Dilemma: Can It Break Free from US Tech Giants? US-EU Trade: Tied Together, Stuck Together