S&Ds disappointed by Trump’s refusal to send a positive signal to transatlantic partner
Date
06 Feb 2019
Sections
Public Affairs
Following the State of the Union address by US President Donald Trump, S&D Group leader Udo Bullmann says:
“We are disappointed to see that the US President has not used his State of the Union speech to send a positive signal towards Europe. Instead, Trump took the occasion to reinforce and justify his egoistic approach that has been a big burden to transatlantic relations since he took office. From a European perspective, this US President continues to act divisive by isolating the US when it comes to foreign policy, as well as on trade and economic issues. After last week’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaties, Trump has once again let down all those who had hoped for new impulses for an improvement of the strained relations with his European partners. We continue to stress the importance of a strong transatlantic bond for stability and peace in the world.
“With no improvement of transatlantic relations in sight, the European Union becomes all the more important for defending democracy, human rights and peace in the world. Particularly, we must make sure to not simply watch a renewed arms race between the US and Russia. We have to be at the forefront of new global initiatives for arms control.
“We support the fight of our Democratic friends in Congress. We will reinforce our joint work for a new strong progressive transatlantic agenda based on mutual respect between allies, multilateralism, and a rule-based international order.”