It seems to be put in place, from the first days of his second term in their presidency, his plan for the form of the Washington relationship – which, it seems, in the days of Biden.
Indicative of the climate that is being shaped, the deceit with which he faced the invitation received from Kaya Callas, the US Secretary of State, to attend Monday – by Zoom or Zoom – at the regular meeting of the Block Foreign Ministers in order to restore the Block Ministers. The new transatlantic relationship.
The leading European diplomat revealed to reporters that he asked Mark Rubio to come “to explain the views of the United States” – which are recently included in the occupation of Greenland, where 55,000 EU citizens live.
However, as Callas admitted, not only did he not appear in any way, but in fact, he did not even respond to the invitation. When asked about her, a spokesman replied by email that “we have no trip to announce right now.”
Its non -appearance, however, does not necessarily cause irrelevant diplomatic damage. After all, EU Foreign Ministers tend to meet at least once a month, so Rubio has another opportunity to attend. Callas even stressed that she was “willing to visit Washington as soon as possible”.
The silence of the US Foreign Minister, of course, raises concern among officials in Brussels who suspect that the Trump government deliberately “puts the ice” on the EU, as represented by Brussels and European diplomatic contexts, preferring the European states. , with the ultimate goal of weakening the block, as Politico estimates.
Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas made no secret yesterday that Brussels has sent an open invitation to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to attend a regular meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
Rubio didn’t show up. In fact, there was no sign he replied.
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope)
The EU denial would mean a sharp removal from friendly relations between Brussels and Washington under Joe Biden, whose administration was closely coordinated with the office of European Commission President Ursula von der Laene for all the until the supply of vaccines.
The danger for Europe is that Trump will be able to weaken the bloc unity, making Brussels more vulnerable to Washington’s pressures on issues such as trade. While Brussels are responsible for negotiating trade agreements by all EU countries, selective pressure on specific countries could create cracks in the collective determination of the bloc.
Trump strategy and its results so far
In a way, the approach is dividing and reigning seems to work already.
Trump has already threatened NATO’s ally with sanctions, unless Copenhagen has retired to Greenland’s demands, which have not been accurately clarified. Instead of pursuing a strong, coordinated response from leaders through the EU, that the situation cannot be further revived, two EU diplomats in Politico said. Those, like others mentioned in the article, under anonymity, openly expressed their appreciation for the future of transatlantic relations.
‘From what we can see, [η κυβέρνηση του Τραμπ] He wants to deal with us bilaterally, “one of them said. “Given his goal of moving on to this bilateral track, we will need to show unity as a European Union.”
Trump’s team has not clarified a specific approach to the EU, but its actions are indicative.
The president did not invite any of the top representatives of the bloc – European Commission President von der Laienne, the leading diplomat of Kalas or European Council President Antonio Costa – in his swearing -in on January 20th, instead of choosing to invite the prime minister. of Italy, Giorgia Melon.
His conversation with just one EU leader, since he took over his duties, the Prime Minister of Denmark Fredericks, is alleged to have been “very bad”, with Trump threatening with sanctions, unless Copenhagen recesses his demands for her. Greenland.
In this context, it is more alarming for Brussels that the EU does not seem to be a priority for Rubio.
In addition to telephone conversations with 12 countries’ foreign ministers outside the EU, he has spoken with five Foreign Ministers from the bloc since his position was confirmed, while his list of EU executives were absent. This has already created a gap between its capitals and Brussels.
“The Power in the Union” of EU Vs of “Divide and Redies” by Trump
Among those who are lucky enough to secure a telephone time with Rubio, there is a lot of optimism about the state of transatlantic relationships under Trump. “There has been no negative message to Italy by the Americans, so I believe that things are going in the right direction,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tayyani said to reporters in Brussels, the day after his conversation with Rubio. “I think there is room for good dialogue with the United States.”
For top EU officials, there is no choice but to show a brave face and advertise the EU’s opening in the dialogue with the new government.
Other ministers have hoped that everything would go well in the end between the EU and Washington.
“I believe it is absolutely vital for the EU and the United States to create a deeply meaningful employment relationship,” Ireland’s Commerce and Foreign Minister Simon Harris told reporters.
If Rubio feels the same, there is another meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on February 24.
