Arancha González Laya warns EU could become US vassal without deeper integration

Arancha González Laya, former Spanish foreign minister and dean of Sciences Po’s School of International Affairs, promotes her new book Solos en el mundo. In an interview she argues that a fragmented Europe risks becoming a vassal of the United States while a stronger China watches from a distance.

She says the 27 EU member states missed a chance to build European unity during the pandemic and urges “more integration and more unity” in energy, defence, technology and capital markets. González Laya claims the United States, exemplified by the Trump administration, prefers a divided Europe because it is easier to control, and she calls for the EU to play its strategic cards to retain influence.