EU Treads Carefully in Era of Power Politics: Brussels Edition

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

With Donald Trump unleashing chaos around the world, the EU is playing a delicate game of international power politics. To counterbalance the growing importance of China, we’re told that the European Commission is pursuing closer security cooperation with India — and that the EU’s executive arm has an official visit to the country planned for Feb. 28. At the same time, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is making overtures to Beijing about exploring deeper trade and investment ties. Still, even as Brussels is keeping its options open, it also isn’t looking for a fight with the US. The EU is ready to pursue any discussions with Trump in order to avoid damaging the bilateral relationship, which, as Commissioner Maros Sefcovic put it, the bloc sees as “the most important artery of global trade.”