Battered by Trump’s Criticism, Brussels Attempts to Swipe Back at Washington

European leaders are obviously fuming about constant attacks from Donald Trump’s administration, but have been wary about responding for some time for fear of putting Washington off backing up a continental ‘peacekeeping’ force in Ukraine or of being slapped with higher tariffs as a result.

Yet reports say that talk is growing within the European Union’s diplomatic corps about alleged U.S. breaches of the rule of law.

A piece in The Guardian earlier this month put Trump’s America on par with Russia and China for prioritising “the rule of power in place of the rule of law.” And according to Politico, some Brussels officials believe the situation has become so bad that it could undermine “their countries’ ability to cooperatively work with the [U.S.] Justice Department on critical diplomatic and law enforcement initiatives.” One even stressed that “U.S. disengagement from key enforcement partnerships has weakened global coordination in combating corruption, money laundering and cyber threats.”

This, of course, is quite rich. Just a fortnight ago, the U.S. Department of State bashed major European countries like Germany, France, and the UK for overseeing a worsening state in their human rights situations. It also pointed to “serious restrictions” on free speech, inconsistent policing, and antisemitic violence. Rather than deal with these problems, leaders appear instead to be content with pointing their fingers the other way.

So much, then, for former Commission President José Manuel Barroso’s suggestion in December last year that Trump’s re-election “is the shock therapy [Europe] needs.”

On the contrary, Brussels has ignored criticism from Trump and his team of its “enemy within,” and more specifically of its overreliance on ‘green’ energy and failure to deal with mass uncontrolled migration, and is instead urging Washington to change its ways.