European Council President António Costa appeared to concede the war in Ukraine was a factor in the EU’s accepting its much-criticized trade deal with the United States, in a major break from the official line taken by the EU executive.
“We certainly do not celebrate the return of tariffs. But escalating tensions with a key ally over tariffs, while our Eastern border is under threat, would have been an imprudent risk,” Costa said in a keynote speech at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia on Monday.
“Stabilizing transatlantic relations and ensuring U.S. engagement in Ukraine’s security has been a top priority,” he added.
The surprisingly candid comments contradict the stance of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has insisted the unbalanced pact, which set a 15 percent base tariff on European exports, had nothing to do with maintaining U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for Ukraine.
“There is no linkage between the two,” von der Leyen said during a press conference in Finland on Friday, when asked whether security concerns had swayed the EU to agree to the July deal. She defended the pact, which has been criticized in some European capitals as an embarrassing capitulation to American demands, as “a good trade deal.”
But Costa, who represents the interests of EU governments in Brussels, acknowledged “the frustration felt by many Europeans, who perceive the Union as having been too passive in shaping this summer’s developments on trade, relations with the U.S. and Ukraine.”
He also fired a warning shot at Washington, which has attacked the EU over its tech regulations, arguing they amount to regulatory overreach and censorship. Trump threatened last week to slap tariffs on nations whose digital rules “discriminate” against American firms.
“Our partners — including the U.S. — must know that the EU will always defend its sovereignty, its citizens, its companies and its values,” Costa said. “Diplomacy should never be mistaken for complacency.”
A revolt has slowly been building inside the Commission as top officials voice their discontent at the EU’s response to American saber-rattling and Trump’s continued threats.
Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice president, told the Financial Times on Friday that the EU “cannot be subject to the will of a third country,” while Industrial Strategy Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné said last week that the EU-U.S. trade deal should be reviewed if Trump’s “intentions” turned into “declarations.”
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