Despite strong rhetoric and symbolic gestures, European powers have struggled to exert meaningful pressure—even on close allies like the United States—highlighting a growing gap between Europe’s ambitions and its actual geopolitical leverage.

This weakness is especially striking given Europe’s direct exposure to the crisis. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent natural gas prices surging across the continent, revealing how unprepared European reserves were, sitting at just 30% capacity. The economic ripple effects were immediate: rising production costs in heavy industries, delayed interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank, and mounting pressure on economies like Germany, where industrial output is already under strain from global competition, particularly from China.

On the military front, the contrast is even sharper. While the US deployed significant naval and air power, and countries like India and Pakistan moved to secure energy routes, Europe remained fragmented and hesitant. Nations such as Germany, Italy, and Spain rejected military involvement outright, while France took only limited preparatory steps. Analysts at European Union Institute for Security Studies described this posture as “learned helplessness”—a self-reinforcing belief in one’s inability to act.