Ireland’s prime minister rejected Donald Trump’s latest broadside against the European Union, after the U.S. president described the bloc as “weak” and accused member states of letting Ukraine fight “until they drop.” Speaking in Dublin, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said, “Europe is strong, not weak,” pointing to the EU’s pandemic response and ongoing work on defense and security as evidence of resilience.
“New challenges” have emerged on defense and security, Martin said, but he added he was “confident” they would be overcome. He also cited the EU’s response to Covid-19 as a demonstration of collective strength.
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European Council President Antonio Costa said the EU and U.S. remain allies and urged Washington not to “interfere” in the bloc’s internal matters. “Allies must act as allies,” he said.
Trump’s remarks, made in an interview with Politico, followed the release of his administration’s new national security strategy, which called for cultivating “resistance” in the EU to liberal migration policies — language that has sparked alarm in Europe. Asked whether European countries would remain U.S. allies if they did not align with his administration’s approach, Trump replied that “it depends,” adding, “I think they’re weak, but they also want to be so politically correct.”
He listed Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Sweden among countries he said were being “destroyed” by migration, and renewed a personal attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, calling him “horrible, vicious, disgusting.” Khan is London’s first Muslim mayor.
Trump also brushed off the Kremlin’s praise for the new U.S. strategy, which Moscow said aligned with its own views. “I think he [Vladimir Putin] would like to see a weak Europe, and to be honest with you, he’s getting that. That has nothing to do with me,” Trump said. On the war between Russia and Ukraine, he criticized Europe’s role: “They talk but they don’t produce. And the war just keeps going on and on.”
Meanwhile, EU leaders are “very close” to a deal that would channel billions of euro from frozen Russian assets to help cover Ukraine’s war needs over the next two years, Costa said. While Belgium has flagged potential legal and financial risks it could end up shouldering, negotiators are “working hard” to finalize an agreement, he added.
Costa said the European Commission was doing a “very good” job and that negotiators were “fine tuning” a legally and technically robust plan that could pass by qualified majority vote. EU leaders are due to take a decision on the package next week in Brussels.
The Taoiseach said the EU “must continue to increase the pressure” on Russia until it ends its “unjustifiable war” against Ukraine — including via financial support. The European Commission, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, is seeking €90 billion to meet Ukraine’s budget needs for 2026–27, which the International Monetary Fund estimates at €137 billion.
Moscow has denounced the reparations loan plan as “theft.”
Additional reporting AFP
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
