In this medieval city just east of Brussels, American and European officials have one question on their minds: What to do about Donald Trump?
Over a two-day summit this week focused on trade and technology, the likes of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Commission trade czar Valdis Dombrovskis will flaunt the rekindled transatlantic friendship.
According to a draft communiqué seen by POLITICO, they will announce joint support for next generation telecommunication and semiconductor projects. They will champion so-called sustainable trade practices and stronger links around transatlantic supply chains. And they will coordinate more closely on artificial intelligence standards to push back against China and corral new forms of the technology made famous by OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Yet, privately, European Union and United States officials acknowledge this week’s gathering of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council, or TTC, has become a hostage to fortune.
We in Europe need to consider weakening relations with the US if starts turning away from democracy.
There is a real chance that even if Trump loses again, by any democratic measure, he might still try to be president, again, and might succeed or make more of a mess.
We in European need to not be dragged down with US. We need our defences again Russia and China, and if need be, sadly, the US.
We shouldn’t wait to do it. Trump isn’t the cause of their political instability, he’s a symptom - and there’s no reason to believe the next republican candidate will be any better, or the one after that. If we wait, it will hit us unprepared, similarly to how we didn’t properly prepare for Russia after their invasion of Crimea.
Their next election will always be the “most important of all time”, and you know their population - they’ll swing republican soon enough. They have turned away from democracy by not jailing Trump, and doubly so by letting him run again.
I agree. I think we need to be turning towards democracy more. In the UK that means sort out FPTP and House of Lords. We need to reengage with Europe.