Donald Trump – Photo by Gage Skidmore
(BRUSSELS) – The presidents of the European Union three main institutions congratulated Donald Trump Wednesday on his election as the next President of the United States.
Conceding that this was a “difficult moment in the relationship between the United States and the European Union”, amid widespread concerns about protectionism and the treatment of minorities, European Parliament president Martin Schulz said that “the freely-elected president of the United States deserves the full respect of the institutions of the European Union”.
Despite the worries, president Schulz and EU Council president Donald Trump and Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement that it was now more important than ever to strengthen transatlantic relations and cooperate on common challenges: “Only by cooperating closely can the EU and the US continue to make a difference when dealing with unprecedented challenges such as Da’esh, the threats to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, climate change and migration.”
Presidents Tusk and Juncker called for an early EU US Summit to “chart the course of our relations for the next four years”.
They would strive to ensure that “the ties that bind us remain strong and durable”. They also looked to moving forward with negotiations on the huge transatlantic trade deal which has hit the buffers recently, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, as well as “EU US collaboration on facing threats to security in Europe’s Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods”.
On the various concerns expressed widely in Europe about Trump the man, EP president Martin Schulz voiced an expectation now that Donald Trump the president wil be different from Donald Trump the campaigner.
Mr Schulz praised the “wonderful constitution” of the United States, “which guarantees rights to every citizen regardless of race, sex, religion and colour”. He said that “every president elected on the basis of the constitution is obliged to respect all these rights”.
As these were the values on which the EU was created, he said that they could form the basis of cooperation and that there would be “no problem” working on this basis.
