EU scrambles to prepare for a Trump return
Ambassadors from the bloc’s 27 countries are holding strategy meetings with top EU officials.
BRUSSELS — Top European Union officials have met with the bloc’s ambassadors to talk through what it would mean if Donald Trump wins the U.S. election, 12 EU diplomats told POLITICO.
“They’re worried about trade but mostly [about] Ukraine,” one of the diplomats said, adding that Brussels foresees “abrupt changes on U.S. policy even before the inauguration.” The diplomat, like others quoted in this piece, was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
The conversations revolved around two areas of uncertainty should the Republican candidate reclaim the White House: Whether Washington would continue to support Ukraine and the prospect of higher U.S. tariffs for all incoming goods.
The meetings, first reported by POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook, come as the fear of former U.S. President Trump returning to the White House permeates the highest echelons of power in Europe’s capital. Small groups of the 27 EU countries’ ambassadors met Thursday and Friday with Brussels’ top officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s chief of staff, Björn Seibert, and representatives of several Commission departments covering topics from trade to energy.
The meetings come amid reports the bloc has set up a rapid reaction force to prepare for the fallout of the elections, colloquially known as the “Trump task force.” The EU wants to hit back hard on trade if Trump wins.
Trump has warned that he won’t defend “delinquent” NATO allies spending less than 2 percent of GDP on defense. And he has threatened to slap 10 to 20 percent tariffs on all imports to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. On Thursday, Trump called the EU a “mini China.”
“They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products, don’t take anything. You have a $312 billion deficit with the EU. You know, the EU is a mini — but not so mini — is a mini China,” he said.
Three of the diplomats said that the discussions also touched upon the EU’s relations with China, with Trump set to antagonize Beijing even more. The meetings involve six Commission departments and cover topics such as trade, energy and digital policy — areas that could experience turbulence if Trump returns to the White House.
Even if a Harris presidency wouldn’t be as disruptive as a Trump administration, the EU executive wants to show it is on the ball whatever happens, one of the diplomats said.
“We are indeed preparing for the U.S. elections. All possible outcomes are considered. We are committed to maintaining a close partnership with the U.S.,” said Arianna Podestà, a spokesperson for the Commission.
Koen Verhelst contributed reporting.
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