EUROPE - From Iran to trade to Russia, this is shaping up to be a critical week for trans-Atlantic ties. The US and EU are on a collision course across the board. If future political scientists ever look back for a time when the trans-Atlantic relationship collapsed, this could be the moment they pinpoint. On multiple fronts, this week is shaping up as an unprecedented showdown among Germany, the European Union and the United States.
The common denominator of all these high-level meetings is Donald Trump. That fact was summed up in a widely-reported tweet by EU Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday: “Looking at latest decisions of [Donald Trump] someone could even think: With friends like that, who needs enemies.”
The fact that Mr Trump has antagonized the European Union with his “America First” policy stance isn’t new. What is new is that Berlin, Brussels and other EU capitals seem ready to fight back. In the words of Mr Tusk: “If you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm.”