“Escalating tensions with a key ally over tariffs, while our Eastern border is under threat, would have been an imprudent risk”, declared the President of the European Council, António Costa, in Bled on Monday 1 September. In his view, it was crucial to reach an agreement with the United States in order to keep diplomatic channels open and limit the damage caused by tariffs. “We chose diplomacy over escalation”, he insisted.
And to admit that the strength the EU has always prided...