EU’s Top Diplomat Likens Trump to Fascist Dictator Franco, Prepares for Long-Term Decline in Ties

The European Union fought Donald Trump tooth and nail for most of his first term, with trade and energy policy, NATO spending commitments and highly personalized back-and-forth acrimony testing transatlantic relations and leaving Brussels and individual EU members mulling the prospects for greater “strategic autonomy” from Washington.

Outgoing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has compared US President-elect Donald Trump to long-time Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, suggesting the difference between the two was that Trump came to power in an election.

“The United States [under Trump, ed.] is no longer the same as it was under Obama. Spain under Franco’s leadership was also, for example, different from Spain under Gonzalez,” Borrell said in a speech in Brussels Wednesday outlining his views on the future of US-EU relations after last week’s presidential election in the US.

“We would do well to talk about governments which at the end of the day, it is true in some cases – but only in some cases – represent the will of their citizens. And this, of course, is the case in the case of the United States. It was not in Franco’s Spain, but is undoubtedly Trump’s United States,” Borrell said.

Borrell, who is set to leave his post on December 1, over a month-and-a-half before Trump’s inauguration January 20, said the 2024 US election was “not fortuitous” to EU interests, demonstrating “a profound political and cultural transformation in American society.”

“I can tell you that [the election result] is going to have many geopolitical consequences – that this election and the decision of American voters will mark the development of the world as it will be for our grandchildren,” Borrell said. Europe must be “vigilant,” according to the official, “without giving the impression that we are paralyzed like a deer at night before the powerful headlights of a car encountered on the road.”

“We have to show that we are not afraid or divided – although in reality we surely are, because the reception to President Trump’s victory has not been the same in all [European] capitals. In any case, the result will also have profound consequences for our bilateral relations. Trump talks about imposing 10% tariffs on all European products. If such a thing were to happen, it would certainly affect our competitiveness,” Borrell said.

The same goes for Trump’s threats to slap duties of up to 60% on imports from China, according to Borrell, who said that “in a globalized market,” these goods would consequently come to Europe – a tendency he previously said was already witnessed in the recent EU-China flap over EVs.

As far as geopolitics is concerned, Borrell expects the Trump presidency to impact three key policy areas – Ukraine, the Middle East and China/Taiwan

Citing Ukrainian officials’ “worries” over what actions the Trump administration may take vis-à-vis Washington’s client, Borrell said “the European response cannot be anything other than to continue our commitments to Ukraine…This will take resources…We will help Ukraine more, taking all forms of aid into consideration. In the military dimension, the United States contributes approximately 25% more than us. Replacing the United States would therefore represent a considerable financial and industrial effort.”

Citing the difficult situation at the front, Borrell stressed the need to “avoid a diplomatic solution that marginalizes Ukraine and, in the process, marginalizes us as well. An agreement between Trump’s United States and Putin’s Russia – bypassing Ukraine and the European Union to put a ceasefire on the table, postponing political discussions until later – is something Ukraine rejects and that we must also reject,” he said.

“Trump’s election should make us clearly aware of the need to reinforce our security, to take our destiny into our own hands,” Borrell added, citing increases in European NATO allies’ defense spending, for example, and the need to ramp up EU-level policy on “common security and defense policy” to “complement” NATO.

As for the Middle East and East Asia, Borrell expects Trump to give Israel more leeway “regarding the expansionist tendencies of the Netanyahu government,” and in the case of China, “trade problems and surely a more belligerent attitude when it comes to major issues related to technology and commerce.”

Serving as the EU’s foreign policy leader since 2019, Borrell has made a name for himself in his adversarial attitude toward Trump over the latter’s disdain for regional alliances and international agreements, and efforts to outmaneuver the bloc on trade.

The 77-year-old Spaniard politician is also known for making controversial remarks, from his 2022 comments about Europe being a “garden” that should guard itself from the “jungle” of the outside world, to demands for a “military solution” in Ukraine and rejection of peace talks and security guarantees for Russia.