Haddad says Washington cannot choose Europeans’ geopolitical direction
France’s Europe minister Benjamin Haddad said Thursday that the United States has no power to veto European Union decisions, responding to President Donald Trump’s threat of “serious tariffs” after European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member.”
“It is not up to the United States, or anyone else, to choose the political and geopolitical direction of the Europeans,” Haddad told the Public Sénat TV channel, according to the Guardian’s First Thing newsletter.
Trump had threatened the EU with “serious tariffs” after von der Leyen invited Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member.” He called the idea “laughable” and said that, should the EU move forward with the plan, Washington could impose “very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe.” “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” Trump said.
Von der Leyen told the European Parliament that democracies faced “a fracture in the international rules-based system” and that Brussels and Ottawa needed to pull closer together. “This is a partnership not against anyone else, but for our common strength,” she said.
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney was due to address the European Parliament on Thursday, the Guardian reported. The Guardian’s newsletter did not include details of Carney’s planned remarks.