Federica Mogherini, visiting Washington, says US president should ‘deal with America first’ as she hears administration voices criticizing European Union

The EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, has warned the Trump administration not to interfere in European politics, advising it to “deal with America first”.



Speaking during a two-day visit to Washington, Mogherini did not make specific accusations but said that she sometimes heard voices in the new administration “saying the European Union is not necessarily a good idea. Inviting us to dismantle what we have managed to build and which has brought us not only peace, but also economic strength.”

“It’s not for me or another European to speak about domestic political choices or decisions in the US. The same goes with Europe – no interference,” Mogherini said, speaking at the Atlantic Council thinktank. “Maybe America first means also that you have to deal with America first.”

Mogherini’s tone echoed the increasing alarm in Brussels over the new administration’s attitudes. Donald Tusk, the head of the European Council, has listed the new US administration and its “worrying declarations” as one of the leading global threats to the EU.

Trump has not missed a chance to deride the EU, going out of his way to praise Brexit, and in an interview just before taking office, he depicted the continent as being dominated by Germany and on the brink of collapse.

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“President Trump believes that dealing bilaterally with different European countries is in US interests, that we could have a stronger relationship with the countries individually,” said Ted Malloch, the man tipped to be Donald Trump’s nominee as ambassador to the EU. He also accused Europe of “blatant anti-Americanism”.

The president’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, gave encouragement and space to the European far right when he ran the Breitbart website, which has announced plans to expand its operations in Europe, much to the alarm of European capitals.

Mogherini stressed that she had not heard any such anti-EU sentiment in her meetings in Washington, which included the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson; the national security adviser, Michael Flynn; and the president’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, as well as senators from both parties.

She described all those meetings as good, and said she came away reassured on some issues, including the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, of which Trump is a strident critic and the EU a strong supporter. The administration appears to be backing off its campaign pledge to dismantle the agreement.

She also took the opportunity to remind the administration, which hosted the UK prime minister, Theresa May, as the president’s first foreign guest, and promised her a favourable trade deal, that Britain did not have the right to negotiate independently until it was outside the EU, which was two years away at least.

“The strength of the EU and the unity of the EU I believe is more evident today than it was a few months ago. This has to be clearly understood here,” Mogherini said. “This also means respect for the EU not simply as an institution. It is a union of 28 member states.”

Mogherini expressed cautious optimism that Brussels and the new administration in Washington could learn to cooperate on a case-by-case basis.

“We believe we are probably entering a time of a more pragmatic and transactional kind of relationship with the United States,” Mogherini said.