America Cashes In, Europe Pays - Why the 28/20-Point Plan for Ukraine Is an Economic and Political Disaster for European Nation-States

America Cashes In, Europe Pays - Why the 28/20-Point Plan for Ukraine Is an Economic and Political Disaster for European Nation-States

By Stefan Korte

26 November 2025

There are geopolitical proposals that claim to create peace and there are proposals that merely dress up peace rhetorically to legitimise covert shifts in power. The 28-point plan put forward by the United States to end the war in Ukraine clearly belongs to the second category. Behind the façade of diplomatic reason lies a project that resembles less a peace settlement and more a large-scale economic redistribution machine with a clear beneficiary: the United States. And a clear loser: the European nation-states, whose citizens are expected to foot the bill for a political adventure they never wanted.

It should be noted from the outset that the author is very much in favour of a comprehensive and peaceful resolution to the conflict. A genuine peace plan would focus on disarmament, de-escalation, and the restoration of diplomatic communication, with the aim of ending the suffering of soldiers and civilians as quickly as possible. Under no circumstances, however, should a third party take advantage of such a situation to enrich itself economically and expand its geopolitical influence under the guise of peace.

A closer look at the “peace plan” reveals a structure that shifts the core of the Western world order. The United States secures privileged access to Ukraine’s strategic sectors: energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and raw materials, taking operational control over reconstruction. The EU, by contrast, is politically marginalised while being financially forced into a role which is nothing less than ruinous - not as guardian of European interests, but as the payer in an American-dominated system. The economic logic of the plan is brutally simple: Washington leads, Europe pays. Meanwhile, Ukraine is transformed into the economic forward base of American interests, a protectorate where US corporations reap the profits, while European taxpayers bear the risks.

Particularly pressing is the question of who will actually pay. When it is said today that “Europe” must support Ukraine in its reconstruction, this is a political smokescreen. The European Union is not an actor with its own fiscal power; it merely manages the funds of its member states. Every euro flowing to Ukraine does not come from Brussels’ imaginary vaults, but from national budgets: from Berlin, Vienna, The Hague, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Paris. Tax revenues which could have been invested in schools, infrastructure, hospitals, energy prices, internal security, or family support instead disappear into a country whose state structures have been among Europe’s most prone to corruption for decades. Billions are lost to oligarchic networks, opaque procurement channels, and parallel political structures. These risks are systematically downplayed by proponents, yet they are central: every euro lost in Ukraine is a euro missing from Europe’s national budgets.

It is especially noteworthy that the plan has already undergone a revision—but only in a single area: territorial issues. The minimal changes clearly follow no political insight but merely serve to relieve international pressure without altering the economic core of the plan. While certain geographical demands were cosmetically softened, all the central mechanisms for financially draining Europe and allowing American corporations economic penetration of Ukraine remain untouched. Neither Washington nor Kyiv appears to have a problem with this; on the contrary, Ukraine openly demonstrates that it is willing to demand the maximum from European states, while simultaneously selling or leasing its own national assets, resources, and markets to American actors at bargain prices. A double imbalance: Europe pays, the US exclusively benefits.

This development exposes the political and economic fault line of the entire project. Ukraine no longer behaves as a sovereign state which values European solidarity but as an actor willingly pledging its future to Washington, knowing full well that the financial consequences will fall entirely on European budgets. The Ukrainian government demands enormous sums from the EU, calls for the fastest possible EU accession, pushes for long-term transfer mechanisms, and does not shy away from selling or leasing key industries, land, energy sectors, and resources to American corporations. The message is clear: Europe pays, America profits.

Even more dangerous is the geopolitical dimension. The United States is not only seeking economic advantage in Ukraine but also aiming to expand its control over Europe as a whole. The plan would enable Washington to reorganise Europe’s energy structures according to its own terms. Particularly alarming are suggestions that the US could eventually take control of Nord Stream 2. The logic here is transparent: after years of opposing this pipeline, the US would gain control of the infrastructure and then sell gas to Germany at inflated prices. It would be the ultimate geopolitical irony. A project that once promised German and European energy autonomy would become a tool for American price-setting. Whether the Norwegians foresaw this development when they celebrated the opportunity to sell their expensive gas after the Nord Stream attacks is doubtful. One thing is certain: any illusion of energy sovereignty for decades would be shattered.

This development is not a side issue but the political core. Whoever controls energy controls industry, prosperity, and the political manoeuvrability of a continent. The 28/20-point plan is the perfect blueprint to turn an unstable Ukraine into a lever for strategic control over Europe—economically, energetically, and in terms of security.

There is also the final escalation of financial obligations: Ukraine’s proposed EU accession. With over 40 million inhabitants and a destroyed economy, Ukraine would become the largest net recipient in EU history. Funds would have to be restructured, agricultural subsidies redistributed, and contributions from net-contributing countries massively increased. European national budgets would be strangled by a political project that enjoys little or no popular support.

From a security perspective, the plan also leads to a dangerous illusion. While the US secures diplomatic leadership, it shifts the long-term costs of stabilisation, reconstruction, social systems, and border security entirely onto Europe. Europe finances a project whose foundations it cannot influence. This is not partnership, it is fiscal protection racket logic.

The 28/20-point plan is therefore not merely a poor peace proposal; it is a blueprint for a tectonic shift in power away from Europe and toward the United States. It disempowers European nation-states, weakens their budgets, destabilises their social systems even further, and undermines their political legitimacy. Millions of Europeans are already struggling with rising costs, declining purchasing power, deteriorating infrastructure, and overburdened social systems. The idea that these same citizens should now pump billions into a corruption-ridden state for decades, while American corporations acquire the most lucrative parts of Ukraine’s economy, is, to put it mildly, political madness.

It must be emphasised that this is not about a lack of solidarity with the Ukrainian population, but about honesty with European citizens. The question is not, “Can Europe help Ukraine?” The question is, “Who pays so that the US can reap the economic rewards?” The answer is clear: not Brussels, but the taxpayers of European nation-states. They are being pushed into a financial commitment they never wanted, whose size they cannot comprehend, and whose risks are not openly disclosed.

Proponents of the 28/20-point plan present it as a geopolitical necessity. In reality, it is an economic risk, a social time bomb, and a strategic loss for European states, while the US gains. Anyone who takes European sovereignty seriously must decisively reject this plan. Anyone who wants to keep Europe stable must once again represent the interests of his own citizens. As long as this does not happen, the 28/20-point plan remains a document of Europe’s ongoing loss of power and proof that the United States pursues only its own geopolitical and economic interests, without the slightest regard for Europe, European nation-states, or their peoples. Respect and genuine partnership are entirely absent in this context.