European leaders reached a slightly more hopeful tone in commercial negotiations on Friday, the suggestion that conversations with the White House continued as Europe makes preparations to return the coup if they fail.
“I think I had good conversations with President Trump, by phone and at the Pope’s funeral,” said Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, at a press conference in Brussels. “But for me, it is important that if I go to the White House, I want to have a package that we can discuss.”
The European Commission is the executive arm of the European Union of 27 nations, and is responsible for commercial policy. The authorities have been fighting for months to progress with their American counterparts, and Mrs. von der Legen until recently had little interaction with President Trump. But the two spoke behind the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome at the end of April, and Trump yesterday called Mrs. von der Leyen “so fantastic.”
When asked about that comment, Mrs. von der Leyen laughed and said: “I like the fulfillment, in general.” He added that he wanted to progress in the negotiations and implied that the work was underway.
“I want to have a solution in which we can both agree,” he added. “That is the work we are doing right now.”
Friedrich Merz, the new German chancellor, spoke along with Mrs. von der Leyen at the press conference. He echoed his position that the European Union, in which Germany is the largest economy, should continue to hook with its American counterparts towards an agreement.
“We need to find negotiated solutions with the United States government,” said Merz. “When I go to Washington, it is not planned yet, but we will plan it very shortly, and I will definitely coordinate with the European Commission to ensure that we all sing from the same hymns sheet.”
Mr. Merz said it was important that Europe had a “common position” in commerce, and that Germany “fully supports” the decisions that Brussels have tasks so far.
The European Union announced Thursday that it was a preparation for a retaliation program if commercial conversations fail. He announced plans for a dispute of the World Trade Organization and for the counter-tariffs that could reach about 95 billion euros ($ 107 billion) or goods, from beef pieces to Boeing aircraft.
But officials are still clear that they would prefer to reach an agreement, and the perspective of one seems to be incessant, if it is still far from being insured.