EU’s Federica Mogherini tells US not to ‘interfere’ in European politics

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (R) meets with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at the State Department in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

The European Union's foreign policy chief has called on the administration of US President Donald Trump not to “interfere” in the bloc’s internal affairs.

Federica Mogherini made the call in Washington, DC, on Friday, the last day of her first visit to the US since Trump took office on January 20.

“We do not interfere in US politics... And Europeans expect that America does not interfere in European politics,” said the top EU diplomat, in an apparent reaction to Trump’s praise of Brexit.

A couple of days before taking office, Trump had said that Brexit would be a “great thing” and that the UK had been “so smart in getting out” of the EU. The comments were perceived as provocative by the bloc’s authorities at the time.

“The unity of the European Union, I believe, is more evident today than it was some months ago. The UK will stay a member state of the European Union for another two years at least... And it will not be able to negotiate any trade agreement bilaterally with any third country,” Mogherini further said.

Her remarks came as some media reports said that Trump might choose businessman Ted Malloch, known for ruffling feathers in the EU, as the next US ambassador to the bloc. Last week, Malloch reportedly said that Brexit was an evident sign of the bloc’s ultimate demise. Earlier, he had also reportedly compared the EU with the Soviet Union, Washington’s most implacable rival during the Cold War era.  

The EU foreign policy chief, however, noted that she had been told that “there is no decision taken and no specific name considered at this point” about Washington's next top diplomat in Brussels, stressing that the 28-member bloc would still remain the same "for quite some months.”

“The European Union is here to stay,” she added.