As U.S. President Donald Trump threatens the EU with a trade war, Brussels has been accelerating efforts to strengthen ties with other parts of the world, such as the South American trade bloc Mercosur, Mexico, and India — where all 27 commissioners will travel this month.
“We need to put the European flag up more,” Kallas said. “We are the predictable partner, we are the reliable partner, but we are often taken for granted. And we shouldn’t [be],” she added.
The former Estonian prime minister said that an unnamed prime minister from an Asian country told her: “‘We have a lot of attention for you but you never have attention for us.’”
She suggested the EU should up diplomatic engagement in Africa, where countries like Turkey, Russia and China are exploiting European “loopholes.”