EU president blasts Trump’s Europe stance

Bloomberg

The European Union must cope with the “capricious assertiveness” of President Donald Trump’s administration just as it has to deal with the rise of China and Russian aggression, EU President
Donald Tusk said.
“Looking at the latest decisions of President Trump, some could even think: ‘With friends like that, who needs enemies?”’ Tusk told reporters before a summit of EU leaders in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. The EU’s 28 leaders are due to discuss two challenges that Trump has confronted them with: his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, and the US threat to impose tariffs on metal imports. While the EU says these are two distinct issues, leaders are likely to lump both together in a wide-ranging discussion over dinner on how to respond to Trump’s provocations.
Tusk’s comments underscore the rift between the trans-Atlantic allies since Trump came to power on a platform of “America First.” Tensions came to a head with the US president’s decision announced last week to pull out of the landmark Iran nuclear accord which the remaining signatories — Russia, China, France, Germany and the UK, along with the EU — say is working and they will strive to keep in place.
All the same, the common challenges posed to EU countries by the Trump administration is forcing the bloc closer together, Tusk said.