Donald Trump will huff and he’ll puff, but if Europe’s leaders rise to its defence, their house will stand | Simon Tisdall

The EU is facing a torrid year ahead from enemies both within and without. But it is still far from a lost cause

Europe is in trouble. Multiple, long-simmering external and internal challenges are coming to the boil. Taken together, they comprise the modern EU's biggest existential test since its creation in the early 1990s. But strong, united leadership is lacking. Questioning Europe's will to survive, Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, warned last week of a spiritual crisis", of a palpable mood of uncertainty, of loss."

The EU's borders, democracies, laws and liberties are threatened by an aggressive Russian nihilism. Relations with the US, transatlantic blood brother and key Nato partner, are coming under unprecedented strain. China, an expansionist, authoritarian superpower, circles like a predatory foe. The economies of leading countries, notably Germany, are contracting or stagnating.