The cold Vance meeting with von der Leyen fails to reduce the tension between the US and the EU

At the end of the formal meeting that took place this Tuesday in Paris, von der Leyen published on social networks a rather dry statement that beyond the formalities, does not seem to celebrate that the meeting was especially warm: «Welcome to Europe Vice President Vance. Thanks for a good discussion about our shared challenges as allies. From safety and stability to the great promise of technology and the critical challenge of excess non -commercial capacity. We hope to continue cooperating with the president and with you ».

Given that hours before the same Von der Leyen had also published another statement in which he promised to take “firm and proportionate measures” after President Trump announced during the night tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. For the president of the commission, “tariffs are taxes: bad for companies, worse for consumers” and therefore if they are finally imposed, “they will not be unanswered,” he said.

In any case, the least that can be said is that the commission is quite disoriented with respect to what may or cannot happen in its relations with its main partner. The spokesmen of the Community Executive could not give concrete answers to the insistent questions of the journalists about the real situation and what European exporters should stick. «It has been said that Trump has signed an executive order announcing the rates, but they have not published anything, we do not really know what they have approved. That is why we are not going to make any assessment, ”they said before the succession of information requests.

They were not even able to clarify what von der had said to read hours before or give any indication about what the steps of the community executive would be in case they were taken against the US. «The moment in which the Contramedidas is part of our strategy and that is why we have nothing, ”they have limited themselves to saying.

War in Ukraine

The head of European diplomacy also participated in the meeting with Vance, Kaja Kallaswhich informed that the meeting also talked about “key issues: the War of Russia against Ukraine, the strengthening of European defense and the actions of China.” The Ukraine file is right now – as they have also remembered official spokesmen of the Commission – “the main priority” geostrategic for the EU, but it is not clear if it is also what Vance thinks.

Proof of this is that Kallas ended his message on social networks remembering something as evident as “as our adversaries coordinate their actions, we must do the same.” Someone may think that if Kallas has thought it necessary to mention this obvious, it may be due to the fact that it has not been clear that the Trump administration is thinking the same.

If you want to seek meaning to the gestures that were seen yesterday in Paris, the most obvious was that Vance pronounced his expected speech at the Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and that it was practically a plea against the European position he approved two years ago two years ago The first law of the world about this field.

Vance criticized the «over -regulation»European, warned against the«censorship»Of freedom of expression and hinted that the main technological regulations of Europe, the Digital Services Law (DSA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), should be annulled. “The United States wants to partner with all of you but to create that type of trust, we need an international regulatory regime that fosters AI technology instead of strangling it.” And that international regime can only be the American, which right now does not exist.

Probably Vance’s most obvious gesture was precisely that after pronouncing his speech he ostensibly abandoned the Chamber, without even hearing as courtesy those of Von der Leyen or of the French president himself, Emmanuel Macron, who was the host of the meeting.

Bargaining

The von der from the dutywhat euphemistically has called in its statement “critical challenge of excess non -commercial capacity” would then be the only concrete reference to the matter that has thousands of economic operators in suspense throughout the EU, despite the fact that in this field the position European is rather of enormous weakness.

Siderúrgic producers are already in a bad time, far from that envelope, because they face high energy prices and Chinese competition. So it could be deduced that if Trump’s ads are an instrumental threat that seeks to obtain something else in dribbling, perhaps what aims can be to end the legislation that constrains the operation of American Internet giants in the European market .