The tone coming out of the Group of Seven summit – from media reports and leaders alike – was nothing short of giddy: President Donald Trump was playing ball.
All through the three days of meetings, he had not walked out, or lectured his colleagues, or thrown a wrench into plans for a unified front – all of which he had done in the past. On the biggest issue, support for Ukraine, he not only agreed, but also suggested perhaps renewing American sanctions on Russia. He even backed a joint communiqué on the topic – a key diplomatic symbol of shared purpose.
In the past, hopeful exuberance might have followed. Again and again, Europe has asked itself: Could this be the moment that the United States renews its decades-old friendship with Europe?
Why We Wrote This
The Group of Seven summit shows Europe’s enduring desire to work with the United States. But behind the flattery, leaders are showing new flexibility in dealing with the mercurial American president.
But even in the glow of this unforeseen success, European leaders and experts are not asking that question anymore. Discussions among seven leading industrialized nations about Ukraine, Iran, and artificial intelligence all seemed productive and cordial. But everyone east of the Atlantic from chancellors to citizens now knows Mr. Trump could change his mind next week, if not on the plane back to Washington.
And that, analysts say, is the true takeaway from the past three days in Évian-les-Bains, France. Europe is unlikely to restore its historic relationship with the U.S. under Mr. Trump. But it is no longer trying to. Instead, it is learning to do the best it can while preparing for the inevitable tempests to come. This year’s G7, however, was evidence that there can still be sunny days, too.
Recently, these kinds of summits “have been about trying to avoid a bad outcome,” says Rachel Tausendfreund, a senior research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. “These days, everything that strengthens international cooperation is a really positive signal.”
G7 victories
The Iran peace deal set a positive tone. With the war seemingly settled – U.S. officials only released a draft of the deal Wednesday afternoon – G7 leaders could pledge help to the postwar effort, most notably a French-British promise to help reopen and patrol the Strait of Hormuz.
But it was Mr. Trump’s willingness to back Ukraine that stood out. “This is the first time since President Trump took office that we have issued a joint declaration at a G7 summit and found common language on the major foreign and security policy issues of our time,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the summit. “I consider that a real success.”
Christian Hartmann/Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) take a walk during the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, June 16, 2026.
Yet European leaders are not suggesting a page has been turned. That was the goal last year, when the European Union negotiated a somewhat humiliating trade deal with the U.S., all in the hopes that accommodating the U.S. would reset the relationship and win goodwill. It didn’t.
With Mr. Trump, “it doesn’t work like that,” says Tara Varma, managing director of the Paris office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Europe has realized that no deal with the Trump administration lasts forever, she says. That requires a new flexibility. “Anything we negotiate is really temporary. All of these things need to be negotiated all the time. Trump will need to be convinced of this over and over.”
In that context, Wednesday was a good day. But the case will need to be made again at next month’s NATO summit, and there is no expectation of how that might turn out.
Europe’s shift in strategy
Until this year, “the vast majority of European states had an ‘appease, delay, distract’ strategy” when it came to Mr. Trump, says Jeremy Shapiro, director of the U.S. program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The idea was: Throw Mr. Trump a parade or praise him and hope for the best.
But Mr. Trump’s repeated threats to invade Greenland, a part of the Danish kingdom, showed that didn’t work. Now, European leaders are more willing to stand up to Mr. Trump – refusing to back the Iran war, for example. In addition, they are working behind the scenes to bolster European independence from the U.S. Largely ignored amid the G7 festivities, Germany and Poland signed a mutual defense agreement Wednesday.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
President Donald Trump gestures as he meets with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit, in Évian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026.
“All of the charming was sending the wrong signal,” says Ms. Tausendfreund. “Since Greenland, there’s been a shift in mindset to more of a mixed strategy. It means there might be a bit of flattery, but at the same time leaders decided they needed to push back at certa…
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