Russians are increasingly returning to Europe for holidays, even as the EU has some of the world’s toughest sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Donald Trump is again threatening tariffs, the European Union is increasingly focused on protecting its own market and global trade is becoming less predictable.
Moreover, a breakdown of trust between civil servants and the government's political leadership is increasing Starmer's isolation at a time when he is also facing a number of other serious challenges.
It has become a habit. When things do not go his way on foreign policy, Donald Trump turns on NATO, lashes out at allied leaders and often singles out Emmanuel Macron.