The divided European Union is relieved to avoid Donald Trump’s tariffs

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European leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief on Monday as Donald Trump focused the fire elsewhere during his inaugural address.

Even though the new US president has promised to pay tariffs and taxes on foreign countries to enrich our citizens, the US will. Leave the Paris Agreement It stopped short of listing specific measures to limit carbon emissions, a cornerstone of EU policy.

European leaders chose to reflect on potential differences with Washington, with many congratulating a leader who has been vital to Europe’s security and prosperity for 80 years.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa congratulated Trump. Same message Posted on X, sending “best wishes”.

“The EU looks forward to working closely with you,” von der Leyen and Costa wrote.

Trump’s presidency has divided European politicians with some far-right groups over domestic policies, including vows to crack down on illegal immigration.

Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was the only leader invited to the union’s inauguration, while senior EU officials such as von der Leyen have yet to meet the new president.

Meloni is positioning herself as an interlocutor. Trump On behalf of the European Union Writing on XItaly will always be committed to strengthening the dialogue between the United States and Europe as an important pillar for the stability and growth of our societies.

Several far-right party leaders from Belgium, Germany, Spain and France attended the inauguration.

Trump wants to weaken Brussels, give the nation’s capital more control and change policies to reduce carbon emissions and police online speech.

Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Trump’s return would boost the nationalist right’s resurgence in the bloc. “With this I will begin the second phase of the offensive aimed at capturing Brussels,” he said on Monday.

Other politicians looking to get along with the new US president include Polish President Andrzej Duda, who told reporters before leaving for the World Economic Forum in Davos: “I have no doubts about my good relationship with President Donald Trump.” To stand in Washington (many people to show these good relations)

Meanwhile, EU Economic Commissioner in Brussels, Valdis Dombrovskis, reminded the new US President, “The EU and the US have the largest trade and investment relationship in the world.” There are many economic problems here.

If tariffs are imposed, the EU has warned that it is ready to retaliate with its own measures, as it has done in the past during the Trump presidency. “If it is necessary to protect the economic interests of Europe, we are ready to do it,” said Dombrowski.

Trump also told Europe that it should pay more for its defense and proposed to raise the NATO contribution to 5 percent of GDP. Many union members are still below the 2 percent target.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has pledged that the alliance will increase military spending under the new president’s term. “When President Trump is back in office, we’re going to raise defense spending and production,” Ruth said He wrote on X on Monday.

But the EU is divided on how to finance the increased funding.

Guy Verhofstadt, former prime minister of Belgium and president of the pro-EU European Movement International campaign group. X is described The team was “completely unprepared for this scary new world,” he said.

“Welcome to America’s new administration in an oligarchy, where the billionaire members of Mar-a-Lago decide American policy. And guess what? Protecting the EU or the living standards of Europeans is not on their list of priorities!”

Business leaders in the EU are also bracing themselves for the next four years. A survey by AmCham EU, which represents US companies with EU operations, said nine out of 10 expected EU-US trade and investment relations to worsen.

Some two-thirds expected US policies to have a negative impact on their activities in the EU.

Additional reporting by Raphael Minder in Warsaw