Reasoning

• Explicit rejection of “decoupling”: EU officials stress that current measures are “de-risking” the relationship with the U.S., not “decoupling”—a term they reserve for a clean break in economic and strategic ties. The Politico article notes that European officials apply this distinction to the U.S. relationship just as they do with China¹.
• Member-state hesitation: The Atlantic Council reports that while some European experts have called for strategic decoupling from U.S. tech dominance, “most member-state governments… have noted the lack of local alternatives and hesitated to discriminate against US and other non-EU companies”².
• No comprehensive decoupling plan: The same Politico source describes any “decoupling drive” as “in its infancy” and quotes a former senior Commission trade official saying it will take years for Europe to wean itself off U.S. tech and military support¹. A CRS report likewise notes that “most European governments… have not supported developing the EU as a counterweight to the United States”³.
• Strategic autonomy ≠ decoupling: European leaders are pursuing “strategic autonomy” and reducing dependence in specific sectors (defense, technology, energy), but analysts and officials consistently distinguish this from decoupling. CSIS emphasizes that “a total or even partial decoupling would prove damaging” and that European rhetoric focuses on “de-risking”⁴.
• Centrist alignment: The governments and EU institutions described in these sources—Germany’s centrist-led coalition, France under Macron, the European Commission—are precisely the “centrist European political establishment” referenced in the claim.

Overall validity: 80%

1. Europe begins its slow retreat from US dependence – POLITICO
2. Digital sovereignty: Europe's declaration of independence?
3. Transatlantic Relations: U.S. Interests and Key Issues - EveryCRSReport.com
4. The Transatlantic Tech Clash: Will Europe “De-Risk” from ...