Europe needs to be more prepared to act independently amid global challenges and not react to US policy, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said during an event organised by the EP office in Malta, JCI Malta and CORE Platform.

Metsola referenced the EU’s tendency to wait for the US to save it, whether this is during war or as a framework for policy and she argued that the bloc needs to be ready to act independently because US policy may not always be what’s beneficial for Europe.

To exemplify this point, Metsola argued that Europe took too long to respond to the Inflation Reduction Act which was a law presented by the US as an environmental law but really just protected American industries.

Next week, American citizens will be voting for either Vice President Kamala Harris or former president Donald Trump to become the new US president. The outcome of this election will deeply affect the state of the world during a time when the US’ global influence is the most unstable it’s ever been.

Trump assumes an anti-globalist ideology while Harris worked under an administration that has kept itself involved in several transnational crises in a bid to uphold its international influence and not retreat during turbulent times.

Irrespective of whichever candidate gets elected, Metsola believes that Europe’s businesses need to be prepared: “They cannot be passive or squeezed between India and China.”