Jean-Claude Juncker, a former head of the European Commission, has taken issue with his successor, Ursula von der Leyen, for her delayed personal engagement in addressing escalating trade tensions with United States President Donald Trump.
Von der Leyen held a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada during the weekend, where both leaders pledged to "accelerate their work" toward achieving "a good and fair" trade agreement.
In an exclusive interview with the Financial Times newspaper that was published on Monday, Juncker said: "I think that the commission would have been better advised to try to have a meeting as early as possible, because it was foreseeable that he would come back to the (trade) issue.
Juncker, who now serves as a special adviser to the commission and works from an office directly below von der Leyen's in Brussels, added that "there will be no deal without the active presence of the president of the commission".
Von der Leyen said her talks with Trump on Saturday yielded agreement that like-minded countries should safeguard market stability, particularly in energy markets.
"We will also stay very vigilant on what the implications for the international energy markets are concerned," she said at a news conference ahead of the G7 leaders' roundtable meeting on Monday.
Earlier this year, Trump reinstated import taxes on steel and aluminum from the European Union, measures first implemented during his first term.
Juncker noted that he had successfully managed to suspend tariffs in 2018 through promises of increased EU purchases of US gas and soybeans.
Trump has now threatened a 50 percent tariff on all EU imports, if trade negotiations with Brussels collapse after July 9.
Von der Leyen expressed preference for a negotiated solution before the July 9 deadline, while noting the bloc was preparing contingency measures to be deployed if no agreement emerges.
During his tenure, Juncker met Trump seven times before securing the 2018 agreement, noted the FT.
Prior to their G7 sideline discussion, von der Leyen's engagement with Trump has been limited to brief exchanges at international events, including the funeral of Pope Francis in April.
While Juncker conceded von der Leyen faces greater challenges, citing Trump's increased hostility toward Europe and reduced international travel compared to during his first term, he maintained that delegating negotiations to trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic was misguided.
"Trump seems to me to be more or less the same," the former Luxembourg premier observed, noting that the US president now publicly voices what he once only claimed in private, including allegations that the EU was established to "screw" the US.
Juncker said leaders must protect their positions in negotiations with Trump.
"He respects you if you are not on your knees. I have the impression that there are European governments wanting to please him," he said.
Recalling his own interactions, Juncker said Trump had called him a "brutal killer" and a "tough guy".
"You have to respect him because you need his respect," he added.
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