For the issue of duties imposed by Donald Trump and Europe’s response was spoken on SKAI 100.3 radio, former Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas.

The “perfect storm” and “explosive cocktails”

He spoke of two observations, one pessimistic and one optimistic. Pessimistic as he said is “That we are approaching, if we are not already, in the perfect storm. We had a geopolitical crisis, now the financial crisis is added. With this movement of Americans on duties, this is an explosive cocktail. Whenever in the past, in history, these two factors coincided, only bad events followed. “

‘Coolish reaction Europe’s response is beating where it should be’

Referring to the optimistic observation, he said that in such difficult times Europe can do it. “That is, it can be lifted at the height of the circumstances, become an anchor of common sense, the focus of a right speech in global governance. A hope for the world, and I think Europe’s response to duty measures that will be announced today or tomorrow at the latest is the first example of this calm measured reaction that beats where it should, but without contributing to a generalized tariff global crisis, “he said.

The former vice -chairman of the European Commission noted that he has personally lived through many difficult times, where the exogenous agents and crises that hit Europe were also the catalyst for the European reaction. “I remind you that at the time of the crisis there were no tools to deal with it. In the time of Covid for the first time we bought vaccines and made the common lending and recovery fund. For the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we bought weapons to help a third country. Now we are at such a point where Europe must act instantly, but with a game measured, cool, not to take Bazouka. “

Mr Schinas explained that before Trump measures, European export businesses in America paid seven billion duties. After the Trump measures, this amount will go up as he said to 81 billion. “Do you understand what we have in front of us?” He said characteristically and stressed how:

“In this unprecedented escalation, Europe has to choose how to answer and I say again that the package that has been prepared and which is under the approval of Member States today and will be announced this evening or tomorrow is doing this. It does not play the same game of absolute escalation, but it aims to target those American imports in Europe, which really hurt people in administration, the political system that escalated the crisis. I think this is the European answer and this is how we will move from here on. On the screams and panic Europe has to contradict calm, weighing and right reason. It’s our only hope. “

Called to comment on why Trump has taken this action with duties, because this is the case, he said that we are dealing with a small team of political power, which won the November elections in America and which has ideologicalized its political action and considers it to be its political action. “Europe is paying for this thing because it does not have many friends in the new administration. You also saw the Vice President of Vance in Munich a few months ago, where he was not even more likely to have a course of democracy. So we have a system of power that is very special and which requires coordinated subtle manipulations with all Europe’s political forces aligned in this direction. “

Can Europe endure a Trump counterattack? More weighed the European reaction from Chinese

Whether Trump “counterbalances” and responds to Europe as he responded to China, that is, to further increase tariffs on European products, the former vice -chair of the European Commission said, “let’s not get into this game of” if “. But let’s reiterate the appreciation of mine that the European reaction will be more weighed than Chinese was. The reaction to Chinese measures was very aggressive, because the Chinese measures were respectively. So I hope that the package being prepared today in Brussels is done to avoid further escalation and is done at European level because the power of trade is a Community jurisdiction, that is, it is Brussels responsibility, is not the responsibility of the national capitals.