Euractiv | Europe on the sidelines? How the Union is coping with the policies of the new US administration

The people Trump surrounds himself with are like-minded individuals. There are no brakes working, as there were during his first term.

The two areas that affect us the most right now are trade policy and geopolitical security. However, no one expected the trade war to turn out to be a secondary issue that we would have to address—only after the security challenges that the Trump administration brings.

Trump has pushed Europe to the sidelines, off the negotiating table. Security and defense are fundamental, and if we do not have security ensured, discussions about trade matters are secondary. If the conflict escalates and spreads further, we will no longer be able to rely as much on the United States and the transatlantic partnership. Unity should therefore now be the main goal that European statesmen should focus on.

Listen to the full interview here.