US trying to ‘divide Europe’, says EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has said the United States wants to “divide Europe” and is unfavourable towards the EU, highlighting growing strains in transatlantic relations during the presidency of Donald Trump.

In an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday, Kallas said Washington had been explicit about its approach towards the bloc. “What I think is actually important for everybody to understand is that the US has been very clear that they want to divide Europe. They don’t like the European Union,” she said.

Relations between the United States and European allies have been unsettled for more than a year, particularly since Trump returned to office. The US president has repeatedly criticised the European Union, introducing tariffs on several trading partners and taking an increasingly confrontational stance towards the bloc.

Trump has also floated the idea of annexing Greenland, a proposal that analysts say could undermine the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance.

Earlier this week, the US administration opened trade investigations into several economies — including China, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico — over what it described as unfair trade practices. The move followed a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that dismantled large parts of Trump’s earlier tariff programme, potentially paving the way for new tariffs later this year.

According to the report quoted by Reuters in a news article, Kallas warned that the US approach resembled tactics used by the EU’s geopolitical rivals. She urged European governments not to pursue bilateral arrangements with Washington but to act collectively when engaging with the Trump administration.

“We are equal powers when we are together,” she said.

Despite the tensions, Kallas acknowledged that Europe remains dependent on US defence capabilities. She said EU countries still needed to procure military equipment from the United States because the bloc currently lacks sufficient capabilities of its own, while emphasising the need for greater investment in Europe’s domestic defence industry.