BRUSSELS - Donald Trump, who won the US presidential elections, must show how he is ready to end the war in Ukraine, Inese Vaidere, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), told LETA, while expressing hope that this will not mean Ukraine's defeat.
She pointed out that the European Union (EU) should work with the democratically elected president, making the most of this cooperation for the benefit of both Europe and the whole world. In Vaidere's view, Trump's policies could bring both benefits and, on some issues, relations could become more complicated.
The MEP said that the transatlantic bond, the orientation that the EU's closest ties are with the US, should be further developed and maintained, although she admitted that this would not always be easy under a Trump presidency. On the military industry, Vaidere said that Trump's first term as president gave a positive push to European countries that they cannot rely solely on the US. NATO members have increased their defense spending.
She hopes that Trump will remain consistent in this respect and that those countries that do not spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense will be told to do so. The MEP pointed out that the Baltic countries and Poland spend more than 3 percent of GDP on defense, which will help develop the military industry and strengthen defense capabilities.
Asked about possible "tariff wars" between the US and the EU, Vaidere said that this is a complex issue, but that the EU has a positive trade balance with the US. EU exports to the US exceed US exports to the EU by around 30 percent. The MEP said that if she were in the US president's shoes, she would also seek a balance. She allowed that Trump could do that too, i.e. design policies to achieve a balance.
"Of course we will not like it. It could have a very negative impact on the European economy. Countries are selfish after all and there have been imbalances. There are already estimates that the German economy, for example the car industry, could be particularly affected. Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum during his first presidency, which are not really working at the moment," said the MEP.
She stressed that tariffs are never a good thing in free trade, but that they can sometimes be applied to solve certain problems. Moreover, some protectionism is sometimes necessary in some countries to balance the balance of payments and also to help an industry develop. The first term of the Trump presidency could be a busy one, she believes, as it could be affected by the US-China trade war.
"We need to be cautious, invest more in our industries, especially the military. I want to stress this tenfold. We now buy most of our weapons from the US. Of course, the Americans can tell us that if we want them to continue to station/deploy their armies in Europe, we must continue to buy weapons from the US. If it comes to that, it will have to be done, but nobody can stop us from developing our own industry," the MEP said.
She hoped that the next EU Defense Commissioner, former Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, would do well in this respect, as he would be in charge.
On the future of US support to Ukraine, she expressed the hope that the current policy would remain unchanged and that support to Ukraine would continue. In her view, it would be unacceptable to end the war with Ukraine losing part of its territory. According to Vaidere, then one has to ask why hundreds of thousands of people have sacrificed their lives in Ukraine. She also believes that Ukrainians could neither accept nor forgive such a "peace".
"Western countries should help Ukraine more decisively. If some Western countries still will not allow Ukraine to use the weapons it has surrendered against military targets in Russia, how can this war be ended? Only by destroying military facilities so that the Russians cannot attack," said the MEP.
In her view, the current US President Joe Biden should deliver on his promise to Ukraine and provide Ukraine with a multi-billion dollar package. She also stressed that the US is not a one-man dictatorship like Russia or China. In Vaidere's view, some Americans understand how important it is for democracy as a whole to support Ukraine and to bring peace to Ukraine. But if Ukraine wins, Trump's presidency will need to show how he is ready to negotiate peace.
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