The success of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the US presidential election could have controversial outcomes for the European Union and NATO, Euractiv reported.
According to a flash study released on Wednesday by the Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies (FAES), chaired by former Spanish prime minister José MarÃa Aznar, Trump’s victory would negatively impact European democracy. FAES stated that “the winner (Trump) claims to want to shed the purple weight that such global leadership entails.”
In this sense, the success of the discourse that Trump embodies is not good news either for Spain or for the European Union as a whole, or NATO: a populism marinated in protectionist, isolationist approaches.
If Trump fulfils his campaign promises, it could have damaging effects on the war in Ukraine, as well as unleash a new trade war in the EU.
“European industry, the automotive sector, and legal certainty in trade will suffer the consequences (of Trump’s protectionist attitude) even more than they did before.”
Meanwhile, European activists and opposition opinion leaders expressed mixed reactions. Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte congratulated Trump on his victory on X:
Best wishes to Donald Trump, 47th President of the United States, by virtue of a clear victory, also extended to the popular vote. The challenges that await the United States are many and concern us all: stopping the wars in progress, opposing with the utmost firmness the violations of international humanitarian law, opening up to a multipolar vision of the new geopolitical balances, aiming for fair rules for international trade avoiding the protectionist spiral of duties and counter-duties.
However, former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont voiced concerns over the impact of Trump’s victory on European governments.
“The president @EmmanuelMacron and the chancellor @OlafScholz spoke this morning. It is an opportunity for Europe, and hopefully we will know how to take advantage of it. But right now, the concern about the consequences of Trump’s victory is very great.”
Italian journalist and activist Maurizio Belpietro also raised alarm over Trump’s return to the White House.
For months, talk shows have been telling us that Donald Trump was a dangerous reactionary. Too bad 71 million voters didn’t care, making biased analyses worthless.
