EU presidency warns democracy will be put to the test in US elections in November

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union presidency on Tuesday warned that the foundations of democracy will be put to the test during the November U.S. election, envisaging a scenario where the longstanding trans-Atlantic alliance could unravel ever more.

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo of Belgium, which holds the EU presidency, said that “if 2024 brings us ‘America first’ again, it is really more than ever ‘Europe on its own’.”

De Croo spoke in an address to the EU legislature only hours after former President Donald Trump’s landslide win in the Republican Iowa caucuses.

His words harked back to the 2017-2021 Trump administration, when relations with Europe took a nosedive because of near-incessant trans-Atlantic quarrels about trade, security and military cooperation that eroded trust and cooperation.

De Croo said that the 27-nation bloc should quickly learn to stand more on its own and that in case of a Trump victory in November, “we should, as Europeans, not fear this perspective. We should embrace it.”

Referring to the upcoming June elections for the EU legislature, he said this was “a year where our democracies and liberties will be put to the test.”

“Not only with election for this house, but equally for the U.S. Congress and the American presidency,” De Croo added.