 |
| "Don't mess with the EU Mr. Trump" |
Europe has spent the period between the shock election of Donald Trump
and his ascension to the White House biting its nails. But the new
president's recent disparagement of the future of the European Union --
basically that it may not have one at all -- has leaders finally
sounding less worried and more assertive.
In the European
Parliament's plenary session Wednesday, the head of the ALDE group, Guy
Verhofstadt, raged against the remarks, demanding a formal EU response.
"It's insane!" he said. "We should be very conscious this will be a
turning point on the 20th of January."
Verhofstadt also suggested to fellow lawmakers the "American ambassador" should be summoned to "explain Trump's statements".
The problem with that is that there is no "American ambassador" to the
EU anymore. As of January 20, Anthony Gardner will no longer be in his
office in Brussels as President Trump takes over his in Washington.
Gardner, along with his counterparts at NATO and the EU, is among those
the new president told in no uncertain terms to vacate their premises by
inauguration.
It is likely to be many months before
Trump-appointed ambassadors arrive in Brussels. One US diplomat
explained that usually during presidential campaigns, there is a shadow
administration -- with skeleton cabinets already assembled -- which can
move into place the minute the keys are handed over after inauguration.
The Trump campaign, this diplomat said, had no such system in place on
election day.
Gardner, an unabashed EU admirer who spent his three-year tenure
campaigning for the Transatlantic Free Trade and Investment Partnership
[TTIP] and other forms of closer cooperation, said he'd decided he would
rather go out "in a ball of flames" than be seen to acquiesce with the
new administration's views on Europe.
"It's critically
important," Gardner said in his last roundtable with journalists, "that
while being loyal to the new team -- which is absolute right and
appropriate in a democratic system -- that people speak truth to power
and don't be shy in sometimes saying what [they] believe in."
Gardner said he had received no communication from incoming officials
asking him for guidance on EU relations -- only a single phone call
asking if he needed logistical help moving out by the deadline. He had,
however, heard from EU contacts that the new president's team had made
some calls to EU leaders -- with the priority being to inquire which
country was most likely to leave the bloc, he said.
Gardner
made no secret of his views. "The EU, despite all of the issues that we
see everyday living and being here," Gardner insisted, "is not about to
fall apart!" But he confirmed that the prevailing view at 1600
Pennsylvania Ave from Friday forward appears to be that "2017 is the
year" in which the EU disintegrates.
Across town at NATO headquarters, officials are equally concerned about
what's to come, especially after the same interview that suggested
multiple EU mutinies also reiterated the disparagement of NATO as
"obsolete". One NATO diplomat said he'd been asked by a European
colleague whether "obsolete" could possibly have more than one meaning
in American English, but that he'd had no euphemistic alternatives to
offer.
Top military officials in the alliance for the most part
dismiss such characterizations, as do Trump's own cabinet nominees.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence has also done his share to buff the
rough edges of Trump rhetoric, saying NATO "will go on".
Note EU-Digest: We can only hope that EU member state governments finally realize that the "love affair" between Europe and the US has come to an end.
There always will be a Europe, but we can not be so sure about the USA, which in reality is more divided than ever under the presidency of Donald Trump. It is high time for the EU to level the playing field and move on.
Mo
re than hopes - are up as Trump takes office | Europe | DW.COM | 19.01.2017
