Spotlight: EU more keen on Trump's deeds than Pence's words

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in his first diplomatic foray to Brussels tried to allay the doubts of the European Union over the new U.S. administration's stance toward it. However, whether the EU would buy it remains unclear.

European Council President Donald Tusk said he raised "three key matters," namely international order, security and the attitude of the new U.S. administration toward the EU, during his meeting with Pence, and got all positive answers.

However, as new U.S. President Donald Trump has dubbed the EU as a "vehicle for Germany," hailed Brexit as a great thing and branded NATO as "obsolete," the EU is not 100 percent sure that Pence could be really "on behalf of President Trump," as he claimed.

In addition, the Trump administration's demand for defense burden-sharing ran into a heavy flak from the EU leadership.

Although Pence in his speech at the Munich Security Conference last week reaffirmed an unwavering U.S. support to NATO, he stood the new U.S. administration's ground that NATO members should rachet up their spending on defense to 2 percent of gross domestic product. Otherwise the United States would modulate its commitment to its allies' security, he warned.

This "carrot and stick" approach ruffled the EU's feathers. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has reportedly said on the sidelines of the Munich conference that the EU should not cave in to U.S. pressure, arguing that EU's investment in development and humanitarian aid should be also seen as an investment in security.

Echoing Juncker's views, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini questioned whether increasing military capabilities is the only way to enhance security.

Stressing a "European way," Mogherini argued in Munich that "when you invest in development, when you invest in the fight against climate change, you also invest in our own security."

Moreover, Mogherini threatened that the EU would go its own way."This means that the European Union is working to do more on its defense as European Union -- not to mix with the NATO one," she said, adding that the EU is putting in place a European defense fund that will support member states' cooperative defense spending.

It's obvious that the U.S. assertiveness on NATO's burden-sharing has triggered such a strong backlash that the EU is mulling an independent defense, ditching its longstanding American ally.

Adding fuel to fire, Trump's "America first" policies would embroil the EU into a possible trade conflict.

After taking office, Trump vowed to put in place "America first" policies and adopt tough measures against those countries who have large trade surpluses with the United States. As a result, Germany, which has a goods trade surplus of 64.8 billion U.S dollars with America, became a major target of Trump.

Given Trump's attack on Germany over "manipulating the euro" and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's tit-for-tat attitude, a trade conflict, if not a trade war, is likely. A brawl between Berlin and Germany, the EU's bellwether, will certainly affect other EU countries.

There is a danger that the Trump administration is ditching the 70-year-old tradition of transatlantic relations based on common values. The EU would be definitely keen on Trump's deeds than Pence's words. Endi