Top European officials have attacked President Biden’s actions amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and have even questioned whether the United States remains an ally as gas prices soar and U.S. green energy policies have put Europeans into “full-blown panic mode,” according to a report.
European officials, speaking anonymously to Politico, accused the U.S. of “profiting” off of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and complained that green subsidies and taxes included in the Inflation Reduction Act have deteriorated relationships between the U.S. and European allies and partners.
“The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the U.S. because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons,” a senior official told Politico.
“We are really at a historic juncture,” the official added, arguing that U.S. policies have disrupted trade and that high gas prices are turning public opinion against aid for Ukraine. “America needs to realize that public opinion is shifting in many EU countries.”
President Biden speaks about the situation in Poland following a meeting with G7 and European leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov. 16, 2022.
(SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Among Europe’s complaints is that the electric vehicle tax credit included in the Inflation Reduction Act, a $369 billion spending and tax law signed by Biden, is “protectionist” and “discriminatory” because it imposes unfair competition on foreign manufacturers.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is very worrying,” Dutch Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher said. “The potential impact on the European economy is very big.”
At the same time, Putin has cut off energy exports to the rest of Europe, which has led EU countries to buy fuel from the U.S. at nearly four times the cost. These factors, combined with record high inflation, the threat of recession, and increased demand for energy as winter approaches have led European leaders to question whether Biden’s administration is aware of the harm the president’s policies have inflicted.
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Flags of the European Union.
(Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Americans — our friends — take decisions which have an economic impact on us,” the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell emphasized to Politico.
U.S. officials have deflected blame to Russia. “The rise in gas prices in Europe is caused by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s energy war against Europe, period,” a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council told Politico.
The White House has also said that American energy exports are helping Europe, taking credit for shoring up energy supplies ahead of winter.
People gather their belongings from a damaged house after Russian shelling in the town of Vyshgorod, outside the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
“The increase in global LNG supplies, led by the United States, helped European allies and partners get storage levels to an encouraging place ahead of this winter, and we will continue to work with the EU, its members and other European countries to ensure sufficient supplies will be available for winter and beyond,” an NSC official told Fox News.
The White House insisted to Fox News that U.S. policies have not undermined or contradicted President Biden’s promise to Europe that “America is back” as a reliable ally,
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But European officials are not so sure.
“The Inflation Reduction Act has changed everything,” one EU diplomat told Politico. “Is Washington still our ally or not?”
