While Donald Trump has imposed customs duties on Canada, Mexico and China, the European Union is worried about being next on the list.
The heads of state and government of the European Union are meeting in Brussels on Monday 3 February to discuss ways to strengthen continental defences against Russia and the position to adopt towards Donald Trump after the American president threatened to impose additional tariffs on European products imported into the United States.
In a Brussels palace transformed for the occasion into a conference centre, the leaders of the Twenty-Seven will also take part in a lunch with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and a dinner with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Presented by European Council President Antonio Costa as an informal “retreat” to openly discuss defence issues, the meeting will not result in any official statement or decision.
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The leaders are expected to focus on geopolitical issues and relations with the United States, as Donald Trump signed executive orders on Saturday imposing tariffs on products from Canada, Mexico and China. The White House tenant warned that the EU could be targeted soon.
Returning to power on January 20, Donald Trump also called on NATO member countries to increase their defense budgets and to depend less on the United States for defense. The US president also asked Denmark to cede Greenland, not ruling out resorting to military or economic measures to achieve his goal, fueling tensions between Washington and its European allies.
“More resilient, more efficient, more autonomous”
In a letter addressed to European leaders ahead of the meeting, Antonio Costa said that Europe must “assume greater responsibility for its defense.” “It must become more resilient, more efficient, more autonomous, and a more reliable actor for security and defence”, added the President of the European Council.
The discussions are set to be complicated, diplomats said, with many European countries lacking the financial latitude to decide on massive additional investments