The European Commission today regretted Washington’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, a global treaty to combat climate change, and warned of the consequences of a trade war with the European Union (EU).
“We regret the decision of the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. For more than a decade, we have worked side by side to design and implement this agreement,” said the Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maros Sefcovic, in the European Parliament, during a debate in the plenary session in Strasbourg, France.
The Commissioner added that the EU “will continue” to implement the Paris Agreement (adopted in 2015) and reminded the new US administration led by Republican Donald Trump that there are “companies on both sides that have already invested in mitigating climate change and in renewable energy”.
Regarding the prospect of a trade war with the European Union, Maros Sefcovic warned the President of the United States of America (USA) that there are around 3.5 million US citizens working in the EU or directly with the 27 countries of the European bloc and that “many more millions depend” on trade between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Speaking to MEPs, the Commissioner said that the EU executive is prepared for the next four years of the new US leadership: “We have taken note of the memorandum on prioritizing trade with the US.”
However, Maros Sefcovic considered that “there are no economies more integrated” than that of the EU with the US.
Opening the debate, the Polish Minister for European Union Affairs, Adam Szlapka, who spoke as part of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, warned Washington that it is “essential to continue supporting Ukraine in exercising its right to defence” against the Russian invasion, which is now three years old.
Regarding Donald Trump’s statements about wanting to find a quick solution to the conflict in Ukraine, Adam Szlapka considered that “no one wants a quicker end than Ukraine and the EU”.
But, the representative from Warsaw stressed, not everything goes: “It has to be a comprehensive and fair conclusion, there can be no discussion without the inclusion of Ukraine”.
Both the Polish minister, who will coordinate the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the European Commissioner agreed that it is essential to continue decades-long relations with the US, prioritizing the interests of the community bloc of which Portugal is a member.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also addressed today some of the measures put forward by Trump, who took office on Monday in Washington.
On the issue of the Paris Agreement, Von der Leyen stated that “climate change remains at the top of the global agenda” and that Europe will work with all those who want to “stop global warming”.
On economic matters, the leader of the EU executive warned that “it is in no one’s interest to break the bonds of the global economy” and advocated for increased cooperation, including with the United States.
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