BRUSSELS — The European Union presidency warned on Tuesday that the foundations of democracy will be tested in the US elections in November, considering a scenario in which the long-standing transatlantic alliance could increasingly unravel.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo of Belgium, who holds the EU presidency, said: “If 2024 brings us ‘America first’ again, it will actually be ‘Europe in itself’ more than ever.”
De Croo was speaking in an address to the EU legislature just hours after former President Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the Republican caucuses in Iowa.
His words harkened back to the Trump administration of 2017-2021, when relations with Europe took a nosedive due to near-incessant transatlantic rows over trade, security and military cooperation that undermined trust and cooperation.
De Croo said the 27-nation bloc must quickly learn to be more self-contained and that, in the event of a Trump victory in November, “as Europeans we should not fear this prospect. We have to embrace it.”
Referring to the upcoming elections for the European legislature in June, he said this was “a year in which our democracies and freedoms will be tested.”
“Not only with elections for this House, but also for the American Congress and the American presidency,” De Croo added.