EU leaders unite over Trump concerns

The 28 countries showed a flash of unity by backing a plan to curb mass migration from Libya by helping the north African state’s coastguard to stop boats making the dangerous crossing to Italy. But worries about the new US administration overshadowed the talks, with French President Francois Hollande slamming Trump’s “unacceptable” comments backing Britain’s decision to leave the EU. “He shouldn’t meddle in in the European Union’s business,” Hollande told reporters. “It is unacceptable that there should be, through a certain number of statements by the president of the United States, pressure on what Europe should or should not be.” Other leaders said that while they wanted to maintain transatlantic ties they also had to be realistic faced with a president who has backed further exits from the EU and called Nato “obsolete”. “Obviously there was some concern on some decisions taken” by Trump, said Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the summit’s host, but there was still a “sense we need to engage with the US.” British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Hollande all briefed their colleagues on their contacts with Trump, with May saying Trump was “100 percent committed” to the Nato alliance. Rhetoric had run high in the lead-up to the meeting with EU President Donald Tusk listing Trump with Russia, China and Islamic extremism among the main “threats” to the EU in a quickly-changing world.