Importing an amount of U.S. gas worth €750 billion, as promised by Ursula von der Leyen in her deal with Trump, is “simply not feasible,” former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in an interview with the EUObserver yesterday. Trump has sold more gas to Europe and other parts of the world than the U.S. ever produced.
And claiming the EU wants to boost its own defense industry while pledging to buy U.S. weapons, the other part of the deal, is “the same as claiming we have a green strategy while tripling gas purchases,” he added.
The agreement reflects a flawed strategy, he asserted, more of a surrender than a negotiation, that makes the EU appear weak and overly submissive to Trump’s demands. According to him, Brussels is “selling the deal as the least bad option…. The U.S. threatened 30% tariffs, then offered 15%, and we’re expected to be grateful,” he said, calling the deal an example of “the old strategy of bullies.”
