Brussels - Washington: Europe and Arabs - Agencies
The statements issued on the sidelines of the European summit last weekend in Brussels showed the European interest in the future of relations with the United States of America after President Donald Trump's return to the White House, and at the same time showed the extent of concern about any negative scenarios similar to what happened during Trump's first term. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, "During the summit, good discussions took place on our relations with the United States and the rest of the world. We agreed that our priority should be to maintain a strong transatlantic relationship. We will work proactively to implement a positive agenda with the president-elect - especially since we are important trading partners and share deeply integrated markets and supply chains. We have a common interest in addressing global economic challenges such as the Chinese surplus. At the same time, we are preparing for various scenarios. Moreover, we have a strong security partnership and share a long-standing commitment to peace and stability across the Atlantic.
The energy crisis and dependence on Russian gas are a headache for the European Union in energy matters, especially after US President-elect Donald Trump pledged By imposing tariffs on most, if not all, imports, and saying that Europe will pay a heavy price because it has had a large trade surplus with the United States for decades, the European Union plans to boost geothermal energy consumption. According to the website of Youm7 in Cairo, the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia said that Europe has, underground, not above ground, energy that can alleviate this problem, because geothermal energy is a source of heat and energy, and the European Union is already preparing a plan. Plan? At the meeting held on December 16, member states asked the European Commission to deploy geothermal energy through an action plan, which it will have to approve. Spain will allocate 100 million euros to ten deep geothermal energy projects, most of which are concentrated in the Canary Islands. In addition, all twenty-seven indicated that geothermal energy can be used for air conditioning, as it is affordable, safe and provides a stable supply of electricity. Moreover, they add, this could lead to decarbonization of energy consumption in buildings and make industries more competitive and sustainable. Europe has brought out from behind the scenes an energy that has been in the background for many years: geothermal energy.