Top EU Officials Conditionally Welcome Trump
The official leaders of the European Union have welcomed Donald Trump as the 45th US president-elect as his victory was confirmed, stressing the importance of the strategic partnership between the two entities continuing.
European Council president Donald Tusk and the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker invited him to visit the EU at his "earliest convenience" to discuss co-operation over the next four years in a letter November 9.
They said that the strategic partnership between the European Union and the US "is rooted in our shared values of freedom, human rights, democracy and a belief in the market economy." Those ties need to be strengthened, they said, as "only by co-operating closely can the EU and the US continue to make a difference when dealing with unprecedented challenges such as Da'esh [Islamic State], the threats to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, climate change and migration."
The letter touched on some areas of co-operation that looked vulnerable during Trump's election campaign: energy security, climate change, the threats to security in Europe's eastern and southern neighbourhoods, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The authors said: "We should spare no effort to ensure that the ties that bind us remain strong and durable.
(Credit: US govt)
"We should consolidate the bridges we have been building across the Atlantic. Europeans trust that America, whose democratic ideals have always been a beacon of hope around the globe, will continue to invest in its partnerships with friends and allies, to help make our citizens and the people of the world more secure and more prosperous.
"We would take this opportunity to invite you to visit Europe for an EU – US Summit at your earliest convenience. This conversation would allow for us to chart the course of our relations for the next four years."
With Republican control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Trump will be in a stronger position than the present White House incumbent, the Democrat Barack Obama, to effect change. Trump has been considering making the former CEO of mid-cap producer Continental Resources, Harold Hamm, the Secretary of State for Energy. Based on his various speeches, he is keen to see the US remain self-sufficient and develop its own resources rather than intervene in the Middle East, according to analyst Andrei Belyi in an interview with NGW.
William Powell