US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell has called on the European Union to be a strategic actor in the face of security, energy and trade threats. "We cannot continue to defer action", he said.
During a speech at Carnegie Europe on Thursday 21 June, Mitchell addressed the main joint strategic priorities with the EU that he considered fundamental for the preservation of the West.
One of these priorities is the improvement of European military capabilities. Mitchell said that all work on this must be directed towards strengthening NATO, avoiding duplication. "Permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) can help ensure and enhance European security only if it is coordinated with, and reinforces, NATO", he said (see other article).
Mitchell also seemed concerned about the EU's energy dependence on Russia and said that the US and EU shared concern about the North Stream-2 gas pipeline project (see EUROPE 11548). He did, however, express support for the Southern Gas Corridor and the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnection (IGB) (see EUROPE 11249).
Mitchell justified the US tariffs on steel and aluminium as necessary for compensating the US trade deficits – which he estimated at $140 billion with Europe and at $350 billion with China. In his view, this strategy is aimed at removing the inequalities of the world trade system so as to strengthen transatlantic relations.
He expressed the USA's resolve to work with the EU to improve market access, remove tariffs and regulatory barriers to trade, and to confront the unfair practices of third countries. "We are open to finding a joint way to address aluminium and steel tariffs that allows us to jointly confront the shared problem of Chinese overcapacity", he said (see other article). (Original version in French by Carmen García)