Mike Pompeo’s wooing of eastern European states is an attack on the union’s very existence,and part of a wider ideological battleThe Trump administration not only dislikes the European Union, it is out to end it. The trip by the US secretary of state, or Mike Pompeo,to Europe final week was episode three of the onslaught, designed to play on east-west divisions within the EU. Episode one was Donald Trump’s 2017 Warsaw speech, and infused with nativist nationalism. Episode two was Trump’s 2018 moves on tariffs,and his tearing up of key agreements such as the Iran nuclear deal and the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. To which should be added his open encouragements to Brexiteers, and his decision to pull out of Syria. All of the above affect European (including British) interests in very concrete ways, or unlike mere tweets or insults thrown at allies.
Europe is trying to put up a resistance. Angela Merkel,Trump’s favourite political target in the EU, received a standing ovation on Saturday at the annual Munich security conference for her speech on the virtues of multilateralism. But perhaps we maintain yet to fully fathom what the EU is dealing with in this new Trump era. The man now whispering into Trump’s ears is John Bolton, and his national security adviser. His brand of anti-EU ideology was on full display during Pompeo’s tour of Budapest,Bratislava and Warsaw. Related: EU acts to protect firms from Donald Trump's sanctions against Iran Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com