The Trump administration "wants to divide Europe," using tactics employed by EU opponents, warned the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in an interview with the Financial Times, writes UNN, amid efforts by the capitals of the bloc's countries to avoid a rupture with an increasingly antagonistic Washington.
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US President Donald Trump has used tariffs and economic threats, considered annexing Greenland, and leveraged Europe's dependence on Washington for defense and security to pressure Brussels, the publication writes. His MAGA movement has reportedly also extended its support to far-right, populist, and Eurosceptic parties on the continent.
"I think it's important for everyone to understand that the US has made it very clear that they want to divide Europe. They don't like the European Union," Kaja Kallas told the Financial Times, adding that Washington's approach echoes tactics used by "our adversaries."
"These are very difficult relations that we have," she said. "If you read the national security strategy and the national defense strategy, I think there should be no illusions," Kallas said, referring to documents published by the White House in December and January that called for "cultivating resistance" in Europe and the need to "calibrate" US military support to the continent.
The White House argued that European governments are censoring free speech, hindering peace in Ukraine, and pursuing migration policies that will lead to "civilizational erasure."
Trump also endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, described by the publication as "the EU's most pro-Kremlin and Eurosceptic leader," in his tense re-election battle next month. US Vice President J.D. Vance also supported far-right candidates in other European elections, including the "Alternative for Germany" in last year's parliamentary elections.
Kallas stated that the 27 EU members disagree on how relations with the US should be built. "Our answer should not be 'let's deal with [Trump] bilaterally,' but instead... 'let's deal with them together'... They don't like it when we are together, because we are equal forces when we are together."
Kallas, a former Prime Minister of Estonia, acknowledged that Trump's stance has strengthened the arguments of France and other countries advocating for a more "autonomous" Europe, less dependent on the US, especially in defense. But she warned that acting too hastily could prove counterproductive.
In the short term, she said, there is room to both appease Trump and reduce dependence on the US. "We need to buy from America because we don't have the assets, capabilities, or capacities that we need," she said. "At the same time, we also need to invest in our own defense industry... not put all our eggs in one basket."
As the publication notes, many EU countries, especially those close to Russia, react painfully to any initiatives that could escalate tensions with Trump or accelerate a possible withdrawal of American troops from the continent. According to EU officials, this complicates finding a consensus on further actions.
"If we agree on the diagnosis, we must also agree on the treatment," Kallas said.
"If we take these decisive steps, it will also have a retaliatory effect, it will be painful. But in the long run, I think we need to be strong, because that's what they also understand," said the head of EU diplomacy.
US statements are “worrying”, but we have always managed to resolve them - Kallas24.02.25, 17:24