Polish prime minister Donald Tusk urged the EU to recover its self-confidence against the threats posed by a DonaldTrump presidency — but also became the latest leader to demand a “campaign of deregulation” to protect the bloc’s competitiveness.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday (22 January), Tusk told Europeans to “raise their heads”.
“There is no reason to conclude that we are in dire straits,” said Tusk, adding to applause that “Europe was and will always be great”.
Instead of presenting the programme of the Polish government for its six EU presidency, which began this month, Tusk’s speech became a rallying cry for Europe to recover its self-confidence amid uncertainty over the implications of Trump’s presidency and the EU’s competitiveness crisis against the US and China.
After taking office on Monday, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organisation and has warned Europe that it faces tariffs on imports.
“The European Union is very, very bad to us,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “So they’re going to be in for tariffs. It’s the only way … you’re going to get fairness.”
The US president has also complained of a $200bn defence spending gap between Europe and the US, warning that must dramatically increase its defence spending.
In response, Tusk argued that Europeans should welcome the call to take more responsibility for its security.
“Don’t ask America what it can do for your security, ask what you can do,” he said, paraphrasing John F. Kennedy.
“If Europe is to survive it must be armed,” said Tusk, urging EU treasuries and the EU itself to spend five-percent of GDP on security and defence.
The Polish premier also became the latest European leader to demand a rethink of the bloc’s Green Deal policies, urging the EU Commission to “propose to Europe a big campaign of deregulation.”
Tusk, whose Civic Platform party is part of the centre-right European People’s Party, which has demanded the delay or repeal of a series of Green Deal laws, called for “a thorough review of all legal acts, including those under the Green Deal.”
The prospect of new US tariffs combined with a series of sectoral trade disputes with China have increased fears among EU politicians that the European economy could be squeezed from east and west, at a time when key sectors such as car manufacturing are already struggling to maintain production and jobs.
Reports on EU competitiveness by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, both former Italian prime ministers, calling for cuts to red tape facing businesses have been leapt upon by politicians, mostly from the right, to demand a rethink on laws seeking to reduce carbon emissions.
In particular, Tusk said that EU policies leading to high energy prices should be rethought, pointing to a review of the emissions trading scheme.
“It’s unacceptable that our European energy is the most expensive [in the world],” he said, adding that EU leaders should “have the courage to change those roles that might lead to unacceptably high energy prices.”
“We all want to compete against the US or China, but our energy prices are three times as high,” said Tusk.
Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.