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Divided On Trump, EU Insists On European Unity - Foreign Affairs - Nairaland

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Divided On Trump, EU Insists On European Unity by SmartMugu: 3:54am On Feb 04, 2017
European Union leaders said they agreed to stick together in dealing with Donald Trump, but at their first summit since he took office they were at odds on how far to confront or engage with the new U.S. president.

Trump and his policies, from questioning the value of NATO and free trade to banning Muslim refugees, came up repeatedly in discussions in Malta on external "challenges" facing the Union.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, about to lead her country out of the EU, briefed peers on her visit to Washington last week and assured them Trump was committed to cooperating in their defense -- just as Britain would also be after Brexit.

Francois Hollande, the outgoing Socialist president of France, led criticism of Trump, calling it "unacceptable" for him to applaud Brexit and forecast the break-up of the EU. In thinly veiled rebukes to May and some eastern states, he warned of trying to cut their own transatlantic deals.

"A lot of countries should think of their future first of all in the European Union rather than imagining I don't what kind of bilateral relationship with the United States," he said.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, who like many in the east is alarmed by Trump's conciliatory noises to Moscow, poured cold water on May's suggesting Britain could be a link to Washington. Europe did not need a "bridge", she was quoted as saying, because it could communicate with Trump on Twitter.

But her Polish neighbor, Beata Szydlo, reserved her main criticisms for her predecessor as prime minister, EU summit chair Donald Tusk, who described Trump this week as a "threat" to the EU, along with Russia, China and militant Islam.

"European politicians trying to build this sense of fear ... are making a mistake," said Szydlo, whose government, like Trump, has spoken out against Muslim immigration. "One cannot be confrontational in our relations with the United States."

MERKEL CAUTIOUS

Stressing the need for unity, the bloc's dominant leader, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said Europeans still had common ground with the United States in many areas, while not sharing Trump's scepticism about many international institutions.

"We have again made very clear our common values and our faith in multilateralism," she told a news conference.

The Union would, she said, push for free trade deals with more nations as Trump pulls back. But cooperation with the United States against militant threats would continue, she said.

"Despite the travel restrictions between their countries I've been encouraged this week by the cooperation and friendship of the Iranian Wrestling Federation and USA Wrestling.

"As we've seen over the years, wrestling is a sport that unites people and nations. United World Wrestling hosts a full calendar of events every season and we're certain to see American and Iranian wrestlers on the same mat again in the very near future."

Trump has adopted an aggressive stance towards Tehran since Iran's ballistic missile test-launch, saying it was now "on notice". The new U.S. administration is expected to impose fresh sanctions on multiple Iranian entities.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-eu-idUSKBN15I2T8
Re: Divided On Trump, EU Insists On European Unity by madridguy(m): 3:58am On Feb 04, 2017
grin grin grin
Re: Divided On Trump, EU Insists On European Unity by magabounce(m): 4:54am On Feb 04, 2017
owk
Re: Divided On Trump, EU Insists On European Unity by Mrbigman1(m): 4:55am On Feb 04, 2017
They re all trying to switch over but shame no go let dem.

See French short president oh, na ur country dem attack pass yet u no wan get sense.
Hollandia youghurt
Re: Divided On Trump, EU Insists On European Unity by MalcoImX: 5:02am On Feb 04, 2017
Who cares. Let him ban Muslims and build the wall. He should allow for nuclear proliferation too, as he said. They'll find a way to be self-reliant and retaliate. Grumpy is a nobody and a failure. Mark my words: nobody who's truly against truth and commonsense has ever succeeded.

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