US wants to ‘divide Europe’, EU’s Kallas tells FT

BRUSSELS - European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the US wants to “divide Europe” and does not “like the European Union” in an interview published by the Financial Times on March 13, after more than a year of turmoil in transatlantic relations.

“What I think is actually important for everybody to understand is that the US has been very clear that they want to divide Europe. They don’t like the European Union,” Ms Kallas told FT.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted the EU in his second term, imposing tariffs on member countries and others and talking about annexing Greenland – a move that could effectively end the NATO alliance.

This week, Mr Trump’s administration launched trade investigations into the EU and other countries, including China, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico, over what it said were unfair trade practices.

Under the investigation, the countries could face new tariffs by this summer, after the US Supreme Court tore down much of Mr Trump’s tariff programme in February.

Ms Kallas said the US’ approach to the EU echoed tactics used by the bloc’s adversaries, according to FT.

EU countries should not be looking to deal with Mr Trump bilaterally, she said, and instead should deal with him together, “because we are equal powers when we are together”, FT reported.

On defence, however, Ms Kallas said the bloc needed “to buy from America because we don’t have the assets or the possibilities or the capabilities that we need”, adding that Europe needed to invest in its own defence industry. REUTERS