BUDAPEST, Hungary – About 50 European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, will be reassessing their trans-Atlantic relationship in the hope that Donald Trump's second US presidency will avoid the controversies and political pitfalls of his first administration. .
Further compounding an already difficult situation, Germany – Europe's troubled economic mess – plunged into political crisis after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister. It raises the specter of an election in a few months and another clash between the entrenched far right and establishment parties in Europe.
Read more: How Trump Won
Those two together “add more pepper and salt to the situation,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
But the US election slump was still going on.
“Our relationship with the US is important and we are ready to deepen it,” said European Council President Charles Michel.
The 27 countries from the European Union bloc will meet in a separate summit soon as some leaders from the United Kingdom, Turkey and the Balkans leave in the evening.
During his election campaign, Trump threatened anything from a trade war with Europe to the withdrawal of NATO commitments and a fundamental change in support for Ukraine in its war with Russia – all issues that could have devastating consequences for European countries.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is hosting the conference and is an ardent Trump supporter, said Thursday morning that he had already had a phone call with the incoming president overnight, announcing that “We have big plans for the future!”
Read more: How far will Trump go
He did so with the hardline Italian Prime Minister, Giorgio Meloni, who praised the “deep and historic strategic partnership that has always united Rome and Washington.”
That partnership came under constant pressure during Trump's first term, from 2017-2021.
The Trump administration imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminum in 2018, based on the case that foreign products, even if they are produced by American allies, pose a threat to US national security. The Europeans and their allies retaliated with US-made motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans, among other things.
Read more: What Donald Trump's Victory Means for the Economy
The impact of the US election results could be felt in Europe for years to come, on issues including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as migration and climate change.
Among the leaders due to attend on Thursday is Zelenskyy, who is expected to ask for more aid as his country faces Moscow's attack. Timing is of the essence as Trump has vowed to end the war “within 24 hours” of being elected – something Kyiv's leaders interpreted as a waning of US support following Trump's victory.
Source link
