BRUSSELS, August 25. /TASS/. The European Union remains hostage to the United States’ military protection, while Ukraine is Europe’s "neuralgic point," Pascal Lamy, ex-director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and former EU trade commissioner, told Politico Europe.
"We’re still hostage to American military and strategic protection with a horribly neuralgic point, which is Ukraine," he pointed out.
According to Lamy, the EU is unable to resist US President Donald Trump’s trade deal and tariffs and is accepting unfavorable provisions because it is unwilling to take responsibility for supporting Kiev.
"And if we laid into Trump, which we have the economic capacity to do, he would have been able to say: ‘Well, if Europeans are enemies, now I don’t see why I should continue to help Ukraine.’ Nobody wants to take responsibility for that," Lamy noted.
On August 21, the EU and the US released a joint statement that reflects the parties’ positions on the tariff deal made in Scotland in late July, which includes the introduction of 15% tariffs on the majority of EU goods, the EU’s decision not to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US, and Brussels’ promise to purchase $750 billion in US energy products and $40 billion worth of US AI chips, invest $600 billion in strategic projects and also purchase large amounts of weapons. This is not the final text of the agreement but just a confirmation of its main provisions. EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic specified that work on a legally binding document continued.