Brussels Playbook Podcast Can the EU decouple from Trump's America?
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Feb 6, 2026 
Zoya Sheftalovich, POLITICO’s Chief EU correspondent who reports on EU politics. Mateusz Morawiecki, former Polish prime minister and ECR president who pushes for closer transatlantic ties. They debate an “economic NATO” idea. They discuss tariff alignment, shared standards, Europe's push to de-risk from the U.S., industrial gaps like chips and arms, and how Ukraine and security concerns shape choices.
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Europe Rethinks Automatic US Alignment
- European leaders are increasingly discussing "decoupling" from the U.S. amid Trump-era unpredictability.
- This marks a shift from long-standing automatic transatlantic alignment to strategic reassessment.
Morawiecki's "Economic NATO" Proposal
- Mateusz Morawiecki proposed an "economic NATO": a free-trade zone linking the EU, U.S., Canada and some NATO partners.
- He argued common standards could let the West impose norms globally and counter China's influence.
Trade Bloc As Geopolitical Lever
- Morawiecki sees an EU–U.S. free trade area as a geopolitical tool to set global standards and challenge China.
- He frames combined GDP and unified norms as leverage to shape other countries' rules.