by Federico Grandesso
BRUSSELS, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The relations between the United States and Europe are now at a "very low" point as their problems are too complex to be solved soon, an Italian expert said after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent visit to Europe.
"At the moment, transatlantic relations are at a very low level. In the past we have had moments of disagreement, but in the past, there was always a way to find a compromise. The problem now is with the attitude," said Stefano Silvestri, former Italian Undersecretary of State for Defense, in an interview with Xinhua on Friday.
Concerning Pompeo's visit to London, Silvestri, now senior scientific adviser at the think tank of the Institute for International Affairs in Rome, stressed that Britain's position on foreign affairs seems very close to that of U.S. President Donald Trump, but in reality, London shares more in foreign policies with the EU than with the United States.
Regarding Pompeo's cancelation of his visit to Germany, Silvestri said tensions are very high as the U.S. Administration considers Germany as a major rival not only from a commercial point of view but also from the "ideo" perspective.
"(German) Chancellor (Angela) Merkel is strongly protecting a multilateral system that President Trump despises. The U.S. president is convinced that if he is able to dominate Germany, he will be able to dominate the whole of Europe. This crisis and rivalry is very bad for transatlantic relations and also weakens the entire EU," Silvestri said.
This scenario is creating a climate of uncertainty in Europe because the EU is used to living under a sort of "American umbrella", not only from a safety perspective but also for the sake of a multilateral system that the United States created but now rejects, Silvestri added.
"The role of EU countries could be the one of a sub-ally or one of 'almost' an adversary. If this situation continues, I think that the EU member states should accept that the geo-political picture has deeply changed and they should consider, for example, to increase the defense budget," said the expert.
For Silvestri, this evolution would be dangerous but Europe cannot swing the United States to embrace the multilateral system that Washington itself invented but abandoned.
"I think the lowest point would be a break and there are now big reasons to avoid that. The only country who now can destroy the transatlantic axis is the United States. I hope they will not take rash decisions," Silvestri said.
Speaking of the future of EU-U.S. relations, Silvestri said: "I think that President Trump simply doesn't want to break with the EU but he wants to land new agreements. This negotiating method was understood by everybody."
