It’s your fault. This is the painful message Donald Trump has for Europe today. As Brussels – a city he once described as a “hellhole” – reels from the shock of the deadly blasts at Zavantem airport and Maelbeek subway station, the would-be leader of the free world wants everyone to know who is to blame.



He said that Brussels used to be an “absolutely crime-free city”, and declared that the introduction of open borders, one of Europe’s greatest postwar achievements, was the problem. In the United States, he tells voters that America is losing. Doubtless, he thinks Europe is losing too. This latest attack, in Trump’s mind, is just added proof.

“Do you all remember how beautiful and safe a place Brussels was. Not anymore” he declared on Twitter. This is the tough love Trump offers: the non-negotiable insistence that all is lost; that beauty has given way to ugliness, that safety is replaced by perpetual fear.



I lived in Brussels and I can tell you it is indeed beautiful, but in more ways than meet Trump’s eye. Apart from the Art Nouveau buildings of Saint-Gilles, the ponds of Flagey and the medieval splendor of the Grand Place, what is beautiful about Brussels is everything that Trump cannot stand: its diversity, unity and openness.



The city serves as three capitals all at once: the French-speaking capital of the Dutch-speaking province of Flanders; the capital of Belgium, a country with three official languages and, lastly, as the capital of the European Union.

The beauty of Brussels is found in areas like Matongé, the Congolese neighborhood named after an area in Kinshasa, full of music, food and dance. But it is also found in the grey, steel-and-glass fronted offices which embody the European Union: the commission and the European parliament.



These uninspiring buildings draw young Europeans from across the continent who flock to Brussels in search of the European Dream. That dream is not one of personal enrichment and gain: it is one of peace and stability achieved through cooperation and trade. A belief that, together, Europe can overcome adversity by following certain key principles.

One of those principles is freedom of movement – it is one of the so-called “four freedoms” guaranteed by the European Union. For a generation like mine, the Erasmus generation, which came of age when border-free travel was introduced, the Schengen agreement represented a bold new future.



Trump’s message is particularly painful because that European dream is looking ever more fragile. The refugee crisis and a series of audacious terror attacks – of which Brussels is just the latest – are sowing fear into the hearts of Europeans. Economic woes and the erosion of democracy in places like Hungary and Poland only compound the sense that things are, indeed, getting worse.

That’s why its painful to admit that there are some in Europe who will agree with Trump. They want the walls he speaks of. Indeed, the walls are already going up. Echoing the Republican frontrunner, the spokesperson for the UK Independence Party said the “horrific act of terrorism shows that Schengen free movement and lax border controls are a threat to our security”.

Even those most committed to the European project think change is required. A French-Romanian friend living in Brussels – who is one of those young idealists who moved to the city because he is a believer in Europe – told me today he was concerned about the safety of our external borders. Many will agree with him.

Europe needs all the help it can get to solve the many challenges before it, not least from its greatest ally: the United States. But fundamental to any such efforts is actually believing in the project of Europe. It is recognizing that, even in this moment, Brussels is still beautiful – not just because of the people and buildings which populate it, but because of the ideals on which it is built.

