EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas said that relations with the United States have been seriously damaged over the past week. Kallas’ remarks came during an emergency EU summit held in Brussels following tensions over Greenland.
Speaking in Brussels, Kaja Kallas pointed to growing uncertainty in transatlantic relations, saying, “One day everything is moving in one direction, the next day everything can change completely.”
Kallas stated that relations between Europe and the United States had “definitely taken a major hit over the past week,” while emphasizing that European leaders were “not willing to throw away 80 years of good relations.”
The emergency summit was convened hastily after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would impose a 10 percent tariff on eight European countries that opposed Greenland coming under U.S. control.
Despite Trump backing down from the tariffs on Wednesday and signaling openness to negotiations, EU officials argued that the summit was necessary. They cited the need to assess the overall state of the transatlantic relationship with an “unpredictable” U.S. president.
Macron: We Must Be Prepared
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe must be “extremely vigilant” in the face of new threats and be ready to use the tools at its disposal if necessary.
EU–U.S. Trade Agreement Back on the Agenda
Meanwhile, the European Parliament announced that it is ready to reconsider the ratification process of the EU–U.S. trade agreement following Trump’s withdrawal of the tariff threat.
The Parliament had previously suspended approval of the agreement as one of the strongest responses to the United States.