“My position is clear: The United States are an ally in the transatlantic alliance,” von der Leyen told a press conference marking the first 100 days of her second term in office. The German politician also insisted that Europe’s relationship with the U.S. was “totally different” from the one it has with China, brushing aside the need for “de-risking” with the United States.
But von der Leyen, who is yet to meet Trump in person since he was sworn in on Jan. 20, did point to a number of problems in world affairs that can be linked to Trump’s actions, without naming the U.S. president or his country.
“We see that sovereignty but also ironclad commitments are called into question,” she said, adding that “everything” had become “transactional.”
She touted the EU’s recent push to sign new trade deals with third countries, including the Mercosur bloc in South America, as signaling openness and praised Europe’s “predictability.”
“We have learned the very hard way that sourcing products we need from partners we trust is the best way to avoid over-dependencies or to avoid vulnerabilities and blackmail,” she said.
Indeed, the EU has been forced to wean itself mostly off Russian gas following years of dependency via the now-destroyed Nord Stream II pipeline. European countries that have bought billions of euros worth of American weaponry now face questions about how dependable those arms are given the U.S. decision to limit its weapons’ capabilities in the midst of Ukraine’s defensive war with Russia.