Von der Leien: EU is willing to dialogue with US – Decisive answer if needed

The European Union (EU) is willing to talk to the , but if it is wrongly targeted, there will be a decisive response, said the President of the European Commission (eds ), Ursula von der Leien, at the press conference that he gave some time after the informal European Council in Brussels yesterday (3.2.225), which was dedicated to defence and transatlantic relations. von der Leien explained that transatlantic co-operation was discussed at the summit and completed: “We all know there is much at stake.” “We discussed how to strengthen a very realistic partnership with the US,” he stressed, finding that there are new challenges and increasing uncertainties. He added that “the EU is ready for strong but constructive dialogue with the US”, but there are potential challenges in relations with Washington and “we are ready for this”. “If the EU is targeted unfairly or arbitrarily, we will respond decisively,” the President of the Commission clarified. CORVERSE For US customs duties in Mexico, Canada and China, von der Leien estimated that “nothing positive comes out of it.” As he noted, tariffs increase business costs, harm workers and consumers, create unnecessary disruptions in the economy and increase inflation. Therefore, the President of the Commission stressed, the EU will give priority to ‘productive discussions’ with the US and wants to hold a dialogue ‘in time’. At the same time, the EU has its own challenges to face, he pointed out. “We must do our job and focus on our own challenges. To increase and improve our competitiveness,” he judged.