US President Donald Trump has concluded his meetings with European Union leaders this morning, at EU headquarters in Brussels. The meetings which went on for longer than scheduled comes at a time when the Europeans are trying to reach out to an unpredictable Mr. President trump who has expressed scepticism about the EU, praised Brexit, and called NATO – whose leaders he will meet this afternoon, “obsolete.” Mr. Trump’s protectionist positions on trade and environment and his relationship with Russia including contacts his campaign had with the Russian establishment have been of concern to Europeans, for whom the transatlantic partnership is the defining partnership of the post-war world order.

Mr. Trump discussed foreign policy, security, climate and trade relations, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council told the press. “My feeling is that we agreed on many areas. First and foremost on counter-terrorism and I am sure I don’t have to explain why. But some issues remain open like climate and trade and I am not 100 per cent sure that we – “we” means Mr. President and myself – that we have a common position, a common opinion, about Russia [sic],” he said, adding that he and Mr. Trump were in agreement about Ukraine.

Mr. Tusk also called for a values, rather than interest based partnership. “The greatest task today is the consolidation of the whole free world around those values not just interests. Values and principles first, this is what we Europe and America should be saying.”