The article is aimed to find the fundamental causes of the confrontational policy of the European Union (EU) authorities in cooperation with the USA and NATO towards Russia («Atlantic consolidation»). The shifts in the scale of competitiveness are taken into account: the advancement of the BRICS group and the «5» group (China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam), the relative loss of key strategic positions in the geo-economy of the USA, the structural non-competitiveness of the EU founders (France, Germany, Italy). The changes in the geopolitical capacities of the EU (with the UK), such as their economy militarisation, the views divergence on the issue of aid to Ukraine and the reconfiguration of the political landscape in Europe are observed. The sustainability of the EU is undermined by manifestations of separatism, the depressed state of European business due to sanctions, and the risks of generational conflict. The sources and consequences of the deindustrialization of the leading economies of the European Union, including Germany and France, are considered. The author’s predictions on the Ukrainian crisis and the confrontation between Russia and NATO, which poses a threat of global catastrophe are presented. A ruinous arms race is a trap for the EU and NATO, a shock to the finances and well-being of the population of continental Europe and the UK. Europe is once again facing unrest related to the discontent of the population and business regarding the strengthening of the defense policy pursued by the European Commission, which plans to create a single arms market and a common military fund. NATO strategists are discussing options for Ukraine, proposing the following scenarios: rejection of Ukraine’s separate territories, restoration of its sovereignty on condition of using its resources and assets in the interests of G7 transnational companies, creeping integration of Ukraine into NATO while declaring its neutrality, i.e. a kind of vassality in disguise.