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Euractiv
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- Euractiv
TACO Trump vs EUCO Europe
European Councils, or 'EUCOs', are often largely pointless gatherings where EU leaders aimlessly pontificate about the politically impossible. Last night didn't disappoint. (Or, rather, it did.) Amid Ursula von der Leyen's ramblings about building a non-US-led and non-China-inclusive alternative to the World Trade Organization, the summit also demonstrated that Europe is on the brink of capitulating on two issues of major economic importance. The first, ironically, involves trade relations with the US. Donald Trump has been widely pilloried in European media for pursuing a so-called 'TACO' approach to policymaking – short for 'Trump Always Chickens Out'. Critics, including yours truly, cite as examples the US president's recent decisions to suspend his trade war on China and pause sweeping 'reciprocal tariffs' on most other US trading partners. Last night revealed that the EUCO acronym may be even more apt than previously realised. For the EU itself appears increasingly likely to chicken out of its initial flat refusal to accept a UK-style trade deal with the US, in which the bloc would be offered concessions on Tariff Man's metals and cars levies but would accept his 10% baseline levy on most other exports. Von der Leyen herself laid the groundwork for the bloc's surrender earlier this week, when she suggested that Brussels' only red line in trade talks with Washington is its 'sovereign decision-making process': which, strictly speaking, doesn't even entail that the EU's actual decisions won't be sacrificed to appease The Donald. Signs of Europe's growing pusillanimity, however, were on full display last night. Germany's Friedrich Merz, whose country's flagship auto sector is being ravaged by Trump's 25% car tariffs, urged the Commission to strike a 'quick and simple' deal with Washington before Trump's threatened 50% baseline duty on EU goods enters into force on July 9. Belgium's Bart De Wever also explicitly refused to rule out accepting the 10% baseline. "Reveal[ing] how Europe is going to position itself in negotiations may not be the best way to come to a great result," he said. Contrary to De Wever, Trump is as unlikely to pay attention to nuances in EU messaging as he is incapable of finding Belgium on a map. Indeed, when Trump paused his reciprocal levies for 90 days on April 9, he was completely unaware that the EU had agreed that very day to slap retaliatory duties on €21 billion worth of US goods. (Brussels subsequently suspended the levies' imposition until July 14 – a 'reciprocal pause' that was, in truth, a reciprocal chickening-out.) Admittedly, some EU leaders struck a more combative tone. Contradicting De Wever's call for carefully calibrated messaging, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that the EU should hit US goods with a flat 10% levy if Trump's baseline isn't removed. Macron's comments notwithstanding, the overall direction of travel is clear: the EU is far more willing than it was just a few weeks ago to accept a UK-style trade deal. Such a policy shift not only makes a mockery of Brussels' previous claims that it would respond 'immediately' to Trump's duties with 'firm and proportionate' retaliatory countermeasures. It is also politically bizarre. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explicitly stated earlier this month that the July 9 deadline is 'highly likely' to be extended. Karoline Leavitt, White House spokesperson, reiterated this yesterday, stressing that the July 9 deadline is 'not critical' and 'could be extended'. EU leaders, then, may very well be chickening out for little reason at all. Anything the US can do, EU can do meta In addition to surrendering on matters of trade, the EU yesterday also appeared to be on the verge of significantly watering down yet another sanctions package on Russia – assuming, that is, that Hungary and Slovakia eventually come around to endorsing it. In particular, the EU's much vaunted 18th round of restrictive measures on Moscow, which leaders had previously suggested would be the most punishing yet, will probably not include the Commission's flagship proposal to lower the G7 oil price cap from $60 to $45 per barrel. 'I don't know if that [oil price cap] will be part of the 18th package of sanctions,' De Wever admitted following the summit, adding that lowering the cap 'seems to us like a good idea'. Indeed, member states' reluctance to lower the cap comes in spite of the fact that von der Leyen's purported justification for dispensing with it – namely, the spike in oil prices triggered by the Israel-Iran war – is no longer valid. Brent crude, the global benchmark, spiked at $75 dollars per barrel last week but has since fallen to $67: just one dollar more than when the Commission president announced the sanctions package in mid-May. In a further potentially ironic twist, the EU's one success from the summit – also related to sanctions – may have come from a member state itself chickening out. Hungary's Viktor Orbán, the most pro-Moscow leader in the EU, apparently couldn't muster the courage to confront other EU leaders on extending the bloc's existing sanctions on Russia, which had been set to expire at the end of July. The rollover was approved "literally at the very, very end of the Council", De Wever said. "People are already leaving the room, and [Council President] António Costa said: "Oh, I forgot one little thing, the rollover of the sanctions. I guess that's OK for everybody?' And it was approved in total silence." The episode could be interpreted in one of two ways. More optimistically, it could be a sign that the EU retains some negotiating prowess. More pessimistically, it might be that the EU simply consists of chickens all the way down. Let's hope it doesn't. Economy News Roundup US approves subsidies for firms' operating costs. The move comes as part of a broader revision of the bloc's state aid rules, as Brussels scrambles to prevent energy-intensive industries from relocating to countries where power is cheaper, in particular China and the US. 'If Europe wants to lead in clean tech, we must act with courage and clarity,' said Teresa Ribera, the EU's competition chief. Read more. US sectoral tariffs are 'unsustainable', says EU trade chief. The remarks come amid reports – officially denied by Brussels – that the EU could accept the US president's 10% baseline tariff on most European exports in order to avoid sector-specific import taxes on metals and cars. The veteran commissioner also suggested that a EU-US trade agreement could resemble the UK-US deal struck last month, which provides tariff exemptions for British steel, aluminium, and cars but leaves the 10% blanket duty in place. Read more. Business activity in the eurozone stagnates in June. The eurozone's provisional composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures overall activity in services and manufacturing across the bloc, held steady at 50.2 for the second consecutive month in June – only marginally above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction and below the 50.5 predicted by economists in a Reuters poll. 'The eurozone economy is struggling to gain momentum,' said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, which compiles the index together with S&P Global. Read more.
Cision Canada
5 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Prime Minister Carney meets with Prime Minister of Belgium Bart De Wever Français
, June 23, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, met with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever. Prime Minister Carney congratulated Prime Minister De Wever on taking office in February and emphasized the longstanding ties between Canada and Belgium. The leaders discussed expanding bilateral trade and investment, with a focus on advancing clean energy solutions such as nuclear and hydrogen, strengthening critical minerals supply chains, and deepening co-operation on defence procurement. They affirmed their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and agreed on the imperative of achieving a just and lasting peace. The leaders also underscored their commitment to defence co-operation in support of security in Europe, particularly on NATO's eastern flank. Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister De Wever agreed to remain in close contact and looked forward to continuing discussions at the NATO Summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, later this week. This document is also available at
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Prime Minister Carney meets with Prime Minister of Belgium Bart De Wever
BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 23, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, met with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever. Prime Minister Carney congratulated Prime Minister De Wever on taking office in February and emphasized the longstanding ties between Canada and Belgium. The leaders discussed expanding bilateral trade and investment, with a focus on advancing clean energy solutions such as nuclear and hydrogen, strengthening critical minerals supply chains, and deepening co-operation on defence procurement. They affirmed their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and agreed on the imperative of achieving a just and lasting peace. The leaders also underscored their commitment to defence co-operation in support of security in Europe, particularly on NATO's eastern flank. Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister De Wever agreed to remain in close contact and looked forward to continuing discussions at the NATO Summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, later this week. Associated Link Canada-Belgium relations This document is also available at SOURCE Prime Minister's Office View original content: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
5 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Prime Minister Carney in Brussels for EU-Canada summit
BRUSSELS - Prime Minister Mark Carney began official events for his four-day trip to Europe Monday by visiting a military cemetery in Belgium before meeting with European counterparts at the EU-Canada summit. Carney said on social media Sunday he was in Brussels to launch 'a new era of partnership' between Canada and the European Union to benefit workers, businesses and security 'on both sides of the Atlantic.' Carney started the day with a visit to the Antwerp Schoonselhof Military Cemetery, where 348 Canadian soldiers are buried. Carney toured the cemetery alongside his wife, Diana Fox Carney, and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Carney also took part in a wreath-laying ceremony with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and National Defence Minister David McGuinty. Stéphane Dion, special envoy to the European Union and Europe, also attended. Carney is expected to meet later Monday with De Wever, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At the EU-Canada summit, Anand and McGuinty are expected to sign a security and defence agreement with the European bloc — an agreement one European official described last week as one of the most ambitious deals the continent's powers have ever signed with a third country. The security and defence agreement opens the door to joint purchases of weapons with European countries and participation in the ReArm Europe initiative — which will allow Canada to access a 150-billion-euro program for defence procurement called Security Action for Europe. Canada will need to sign a second agreement with the European Commission before it can take part in the program. A government official briefing reporters on the trip said the partnership is expected to make procurement easier and more affordable, while also allowing Canada to diversify its sources of equipment. At the EU-Canada summit, leaders are also expected to issue a joint statement pressing Russia to end its war on Ukraine through measures like further sanctions, and calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The joint statement is also expected to touch on climate change, trade and digital and tech policy. De Wever said Canada's partnership with the EU is critical now because 'we've woken up in a world that doesn't look that friendly anymore.' 'We're living in a world where we have an imperialist power in the east who uses military force, we have a peculiar figure in the White House who is choosing the road of protectionism and even isolationism. So those who like a rules-based world, a multilateral world, should find each other's company now,' the Belgian prime minister said. De Wever said allies will need to spend more on defence and should do so wisely by developing their industrial defence bases together. 'Those countries who still like multilateralism are the countries that have to look up each other's company and make good agreements,' he said. Carney posted on social media early Monday that he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump overnight. He said the conversation addressed the need to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East. Carney said he and Trump also spoke about trade and their shared commitment to a stronger NATO. Carney has called for a 'diplomatic solution' in the wake of U.S. strikes on three key nuclear facilities in Iran. In a statement Sunday, Carney called Iran's nuclear program a 'grave threat' to international security and said Canada has been 'consistently clear' that Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. Speaking to reporters Monday, De Wever said he had no sympathy for the 'evil' Iranian regime and called the country a 'big sponsor of terrorism.' De Wever said that while there should be regime change in Iran, it would be preferable if it came through a democratic process and not one that 'starts with bombing.' Leaders at the EU-Canada summit are also expected to discuss global trade and commit to working toward ratifying and implementing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, the Canada-Europe free trade deal known as CETA. The pact took effect provisionally in 2017 and most of its contents now apply. But all EU countries need to approve CETA before it can take full effect; 10 members still haven't ratified the deal. Carney, Costa and von der Leyen are scheduled to hold a joint press conference Monday evening. On Tuesday, Carney travels to The Hague for the NATO summit. The international meetings come as Canada looks to reduce its defence procurement reliance on the United States due to strained relations over tariffs and Trump's repeated talk about Canada becoming a U.S. state. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2025.
5 days ago
- Politics
Carney talks de-escalation with Trump, as Belgian PM offers no sympathy for Iran
There was little sympathy for Iran and reluctant backing for regime change among some European leaders, following the weekend airstrikes by the United States on Iran's nuclear facilities. On Monday, newly minted conservative Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever described Iran as an evil regime and a sponsor terrorism throughout the Middle East and Europe. He spoke to Canadian journalists following a Second World War commemoration event at the Antwerp Schoonselhof Military Cemetery, where he and Prime Minister Mark Carney laid wreaths to remember the fallen. Carney, in a social media post early Monday, said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump overnight about de-escalating the conflict in the Middle East. The two leaders talked about the weekend's events and also the upcoming NATO Summit. De Wever, however, took a harder line and spoke about a foiled Iranian-sponsored terrorism plot, where the suspect was headed to Paris, but arrested on Belgian soil — something that prompted retaliation from the regime in Tehran. Iran is the big sponsor of terrorism, De Wever said. Without Iran, there would have been no Hamas. Without a Hamas, not a 7th of October. Without the 7th of October, [not] another war in Gaza, he said. Without Iran, there wouldn't be Hezbollah, there wouldn't be Houthis. So it's a hard regime to feel sorry for. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media platform, suggested he might welcome the toppling of the Iranian government (new window) , but insisted the weekend attacks — which saw the three Iranian nuclear sites hit with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs — were not intended to bring about regime change. For his part, De Wever said, as a believer in the rule of law, it's unfortunate that the situation has come to a point where military action was required to stop Iran's nuclear program. It would be best if there would be a regime change in Iran, but … you would prefer that it would be a democratic process or another process that doesn't start with bombing, De Wever said. 'Within striking distance of Europe' One defence expert said that kind of reaction shouldn't be surprising, because of the long history of tension with the hard-line regime in Iran. I think you might have European leaders publicly calling for restraint, but privately, very at ease that an extremist-led regime that was within striking distance of Europe wasn't able to develop up to 10 nuclear weapons that they could mate with ballistic missiles and hold Europe hostage, said Benjamin Jensen, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies in remarks made ahead of the U.S. strikes. WATCH | The National breaks down the U.S. attacks on Iran: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? The Breakdown | U.S. attack on Iran nuclear sites The National breaks down what makes U.S. President Donald Trump's attack on Iran likely unconstitutional, but not unprecedented. And, an Iranian-Canadian describes the helpless situation she's in now that her father is stuck in Iran. Jensen cautioned, however, there might be a limit to the support of Trump's actions. If those attacks, though, spread to targeting leaders and a wider rollback of Iranian military capability, it creates the risk of second- and third-order effects that would really cause concern in Europe, he said. Indeed, while Russia's reaction to its ally and important weapons supplier being bombed has been limited to rhetoric, the Kremlin drew a line at the notion of regime change in Tehran. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the notion of toppling the Iranian government as unimaginable and unacceptable. Although Russia and Iran have a strategic partnership, there's no direct military support requirement built into the agreement. Murray Brewster (new window) · CBC News
