EU leaders have vowed to stand united against US President Donald Trump’s plans to impose import tariffs on the European Union. The announcement comes after Trump declared that tariffs are “definitely happening” and criticized the EU’s €300 billion deficit with the USA as an “atrocity”. In response, European leaders expressed their commitment to defend their interests while emphasizing the need for cooperation.
The EU is looking to become more independent, economically and militarily, as it seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the bloc will react with tariff policies, but emphasized the importance of cooperation. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that a trade war would be “totally unnecessary and stupid”, while Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin stressed that the EU must act as one.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas predicted that there would be no winners in a trade war with the US, warning that tariffs would harm jobs and prices. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda suggested that the EU acquire more liquid natural gas and military equipment to strengthen its ties with the US.
The meeting also saw British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attend for the first time since Brexit, as he seeks to “reset” relations with the EU. Trump had hinted at imposing tariffs on the UK, but allowed for a potential change of heart when discussing it with Starmer. The US has already imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico in response to their retaliatory measures.
Source: https://www.euronews.com/2025/02/03/kremlin-collaborator-and-donetsk-paramilitary-leader-killed-in-moscow-bomb-explosion