The bloc’s former top diplomat has joined a chorus of officials slamming a deal brokered by the European Commission president
The EU will be unable to meet the commitments it made under a recent trade deal with the US, according to former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. In an interview with EUObserver published Monday, Borrell questioned the bloc’s capacity to purchase the promised volume of American natural gas.
Brussels and Washington finalized an agreement on July 28, concluding months of negotiations between US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The pact imposes a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the United States, while the bloc has agreed to buy $750 billion in US energy and invest $600 billion in the American economy over the next three years.
According to the Sunday Times report, von der Leyen “surrendered” to a lopsided US trade deal without resistance out of fear that Washington might reduce military support for Ukraine or even withdraw American forces from Europe.
Importing such an amount of gas is “simply not feasible,” Borrell said, adding that “the EU doesn’t buy gas, companies do.” He also warned that the deal contradicts the bloc’s domestic goals.
”We say we want our own defense industry while promising to buy everything from the US,” the former EC vice president noted. “The same as claiming we have a green strategy while tripling gas purchases.”
Borrell argued that the agreement reflects a flawed strategy, calling it more of a surrender than a negotiation. He suggested the deal makes the EU appear weak and overly submissive to Trump’s demands. According to him, Brussels is “selling the deal as the least bad option.”
“The US threatened 30% tariffs, then offered 15%, and we’re expected to be grateful,” he said, calling the deal an example of “the old strategy of bullies.”
Borrell is not alone in his criticism. Several other European officials have slammed von der Leyen over the perceived imbalance of the agreement.
Veteran French politician Marine Le Pen labeled the deal a “fiasco.” French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly voiced dissatisfaction with the outcome, saying the EU is “not feared enough.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused von der Leyen of overstepping her authority by allegedly committing the bloc to large-scale US arms purchases, saying that Trump “ate her for breakfast.”
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