The United States and the EU agreed to deepen their alliance against transnational crime

The Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, and the European Commissioner for Migration and the Interior, Ylva Johansson, met this Thursday in Washington to deepen the bilateral alliance in the fight against transnational crime and terrorism.

In their first meeting, they reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen collaboration against “common threats” such as international terrorism, violent domestic extremism and cybercrime, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

Finally, they agreed to relaunch the dialogue between the US and the European Union (EU) to “ensure the protection and security of citizens in both jurisdictions.”

Washington and Brussels seek to turn the page on the tensions generated during the government of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), who put the transatlantic alliance to the test with constant criticism of European partners.

Trump came to describe the European Union (EU), one of the US’s historic allies, as a “rival” of the country.

“Well, I think we have a lot of rivals. I consider the European Union to be a rival, what they do to us in trade. You would not think about the European Union, but it is a rival, “ said Trump in an interview with the US network CBS from his golf club in Turnberry (Scotland, United Kingdom) in 2018.

The then US president also pointed out that Russia “is an adversary in certain aspects” and that China is an “economically adversary.”

“But that doesn’t mean they are bad. It does not mean anything. It means that they are competitive, “ the atypical former president clarified in that interview.

For these and many other comments, Trump raised the tension with countries and regions considered partners of the United States, such as the EU itself, Canada and Mexico, especially in trade matters.

In fact , during the mandate of the North American magnate it was decided to end the exemption of tariffs on steel and aluminum from the EU, Canada and Mexico, a movement that was responded to with similar measures by the governments of those regions.

“You know that I love those countries (those of the EU). I respect the leaders of those countries. But, in a commercial sense, they have really taken advantage of us, and many of those countries are in NATO and they were not paying their fraction, “he criticized.

After the NATO summit in 2018, Trump boasted of having promoted increased investment in defense among NATO members and claimed that European allies and Canada have “strengthened their commitment” to military spending “as never before. they had done before ”.