The EU and US President Donald Trump have "turned the page" on their previously rocky relationship, the bloc's political president has said, after a pledge to co-operate on Ukraine's future followed deals on defence spending and trade.
Trump returned to power claiming that the EU had been formed to "screw" the US and lambasting Europe for freeloading on US defence support and aid to Ukraine, but in recent weeks he has praised European leaders and his relations with Brussels.
"If you look back nine months ago, in January, everybody was really afraid, especially about our relations with the United States," said António Costa, president of the EU Council. "Over the last nine months, we managed to stabilise the transatlantic relations."
"If you remember his first declarations about the European Union, it seems as if it was something that happened 10 years ago," Costa, who represents the EU's 27 national leaders, told the FT. "But now I think we have turned the page and now we need to build upon this new stability and look forward to continuing our relationship with the United States."
Costa reiterated his view on the relationship despite the decision by the European Commission on Friday to fine Google €2.95bn for its search advertising practices and ordered the US tech group to end the alleged "self-preferencing" of its own services.
Trump responded to what he said was a "very unfair" move by threatening to hit Europe with new tariffs, after Google called the fine "unjustified" and framed it as an example of Europe's disproportionate enforcement on US companies.
"Look, friends don't always agree on everything. We know that the United States has a different vision than Europe about digital regulation. But, OK. We respect their opinion and for sure they respect our decisions," Costa said.
"On digital regulation, it's clear that we did not agree to change it in the framework of the [EU-US] trade deal and we do not envisage to change it," he added.
Costa's remarks followed a meeting of Ukraine's western allies in Paris where Trump told attendees on a call that the US would soon finalise its commitments regarding European-led security guarantees to a post-conflict Ukraine.
The Trump administration has also begun talks with EU officials on a fresh sanctions package against Russia.
That shift on Ukraine -- from remarks earlier this year ruling out any American participation in a post-conflict force and suggesting potential sanctions relief for Moscow -- followed a pledge by European Nato allies to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence, and the signing of a EU-US trade deal in which the bloc accepted 15 per cent tariffs on many exports to the US.
"You're respected all over the world," Trump told Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission and Costa's equivalent for the EU's bureaucracy, last month at a meeting with European leaders. "You might just be the most powerful person at this table."
Despite the recently-concluded trade deal and the positive momentum, other EU officials have warned that the transatlantic relationship remains uneasy in key areas, and many remain wary of Trump's proclivity for unexpected policy shifts.
In addition to Trump's threatened tariffs on foreign countries that impose what he deems to be unfair regulations on US Big Tech companies, long a sore point between Brussels and Washington, key elements of the trade deal with the EU, particularly related to the continent's critical car industry remain unclear.
The deals on defence, trade and Ukraine should be seen as having "bought the EU some time" with regards to the Trump administration, a senior EU official told the FT, rather than settling areas of contention.
"The added value of the [trade] agreement is to provide predictability," said Costa. "It's in the interest of both the EU and the US to preserve this main achievement and not go back to uncertainty, which would undermine investors' trust."
"The interaction between Europe and the United States has been very, very intensive over the last months. We experienced very critical moments, a lot of uncertainty," he said. "But now we have found a new common ground, and now we need to look forward and build upon this."