Pence tries soothing anxious EU leaders
BRUSSELS — Vice President Pence assured nervous European leaders on Monday that the Trump administration is committed to “cooperation and partnership” with the European Union, as he sought to quiet fears that the White House wants to break up the 28-nation bloc.
Mr. Pence’s reassurance was a striking departure from some of President Donald Trump’s comments over the past year in which he painted the European Union in dark terms. Mr. Trump described Brussels as “a hellhole” early last year, and he praised Britain’s decision in June to leave the EU.
And Mr. Pence’s statements came as British lawmakers were undertaking a highly unusual debate on whether Britain should rescind its offer of a state dinner to the U.S. president, an action that holds no legal power but is nonetheless a headache for Prime Minister Theresa May. And at the same time, many Swedes remained flabbergasted as Mr. Trump doubled down on his suggestion — based on a Fox News report — that refugees in the Scandinavian country were behind a surge in crime and terrorism.
In his meetings with top EU officials, Mr. Pence offered a far more conventional vision of relations with the bloc than his president did amid sheer angst that a century of trans-Atlantic friendship may be sinking.
“It is my privilege on behalf of President Trump to express the strong commitment of the United States to continued cooperation and partnership with the European Union,” Mr. Pence said after meeting European Council President Donald Tusk, who represents the leaders of the 28 EU nations.
Mr. Pence said he looked forward to greater coordination in dealing with economic matters and fighting terrorism. He urged peace efforts in Ukraine, promising to push Russia hard. (At the same time, the Kremlin issued a denial of any knowledge of a peace plan for Ukraine put forward by a Ukrainian lawmaker and two associates of Mr. Trump.)
“We are separated by an ocean, but we are joined by a common heritage and a common commitment to freedom, to democracy and to the rule of law,” Mr. Pence said.
Mr. Tusk said he was satisfied with the meeting.
“It is in the interest of us all to prevent the disintegration of the West,” said Mr. Tusk.
Concerns about Mr. Trump’s attitude toward the European Union spiked when he said shortly before his inauguration that he was indifferent to the fate of the bloc, that it was primarily a vehicle for German economic interests and that he expected that more countries would split from the EU in the coming years.
Mr. Trump also termed NATO “obsolete” last month.
Many European leaders also have split with Mr. Trump on Iran and are moving forward on doing business with Tehran.
Mr. Pence and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis were deployed to Europe last week to try to calm fears about a shift in U.S. foreign policy attitudes. By and large, they outlined a policy toward Europe and NATO that bore only fleeting resemblance to Mr. Trump’s public comments.
That left leaders uncertain about how much faith to place in Mr. Mattis and Mr. Pence’s message.