'With friends like that …' EU's Tusk blasts Trump, U.S. as 'capricious'
Gulf in U.S.-EU relations appears as meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, gets underway
A top European Union official branded President Donald Trump selfish and capricious Wednesday as EU leaders gathered to count the likely economic damage U.S. policies might inflict on the bloc and to try to rescue the Iran nuclear deal.
In a striking rhetorical assault on the leader of Europe's biggest ally, EU Council President Donald Tusk said that given Trump's recent decisions, "someone could even think 'with friends like that, who needs enemies?"'
Trump has bewildered the Europeans by threatening to slap tariffs on EU steel and aluminum exports and reneging on an agreement to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, which the EU believes is vital to world security.
Trump has also broken with a key international principle of Middle East peace efforts by moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
Tusk's remarks, just hours before he was to chair a meeting in Bulgaria of the 28 leaders of the world's biggest trading bloc, underscored the widening gulf in EU-U.S. relations.
He has made us realize that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm.- EU's Donald Tusk on Donald Trump
Listing Europe's traditional challenges, ranging from the expanding power of China to the belligerence of Russia, Tusk said: "We are witnessing today a new phenomenon, the capricious assertiveness of the American administration."
"Frankly speaking, Europe should be grateful to President Trump, because thanks to him we have got rid of all illusions. He has made us realize that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm," Tusk said.
Iran deal, Jerusalem embassy
In dinner talks in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, EU leaders will be briefed on possible incentives to keep Tehran in the nuclear agreement, even after a key player like the U.S. pulled out. The U.S. move has paved the way for U.S. sanctions that are likely to hit European companies doing business with Iran.
The options being discussed include new credit lines for Iran, increased energy co-operation and the use of EU laws to block European companies from caving in to U.S. sanctions.
"I want leaders to reconfirm that the EU sticks to the deal as long as Iran does. The deal is good for European and global security," said Tusk.
The leaders will also discuss Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, which could be slapped on the EU after June 1. Trump says the tariffs are needed for national security reasons. The Europeans, most of them U.S. allies in NATO, say they pose no security threat and that it is simply an excuse to break with the rules-based order of the World Trade Organization.
"It is absurd to even think that the EU could be a threat to the U.S. We need to bring back reality in this discussion," Tusk said.
Trump's decision to relocate the U.S. embassy to the contested city of Jerusalem will also be raised. Some EU leaders have made a direct link between the move and the killing of almost 60 Palestinians during protests on the Gaza border.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel is calling for an international investigation.
"It's a moment that sends a shiver down your spine. Because there is a striking contrast between, on the one hand, an inauguration in great splendour, with smiles, and on the other hand, the drama, and families today that are in mourning with innocent children who are the victims of this situation," Michel told state broadcaster RTBF.
"We knew that there was a great risk, that this decision to move moving the embassy would bring less security, bring tragedies, and sadly we were right," he said.
But the EU is anything but united and finding consensus will not be easy.
Some countries sent representatives to the U.S. Jerusalem embassy opening on Monday and the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania blocked an EU effort to publish a statement critical of the U.S. move.