BRUSSELS — The EU should maintain strong defense ties with the U.S. despite its deteriorating relationship with President Donald Trump, Lithuania’s finance minister told POLITICO in an interview.

Rimantas Šadžius cautioned against the EU shutting the door on U.S. defense companies when it comes to joint public procurement in response to growing tensions with Washington on issues as diverse as trade and freedom of speech.

“We have very important NATO partners that are aligned with us on both political terms but also in ensuring defense capabilities with us. Let’s name Norway, Canada and the United States,” Šadžius said. 

“I think we should make everything possible to integrate our allies into the joint defense effort,” he added. 

A Social Democratic grandee with vast economic expertise, Šadžius is considering challenging Ireland’s incumbent Paschal Donohoe for the presidency of the Eurogroup, a powerful grouping of eurozone finance ministers.

“I have not yet decided myself [whether to run],” he said. “I would wish personally [that whoever is elected as president of the] Eurogroup’s activities would become more focused on the issues that concern just the euro area and be more dynamic.”

SAFE dilemma

His remarks come as the EU’s 27 ambassadors negotiate the fine print of the €150 billion Security Action For Europe regulation, a funding initiative put forward by the European Commission to bolster the EU’s defense capabilities and counter Russian influence as the U.S shifts its attention toward the Pacific. 

SAFE comes with incentives to buy European military components, and keeps the door shut to foreign countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. Neither country is allowed to take part in joint purchases under this scheme unless they have so-called Security and Defence Partnership agreements with the bloc.

During negotiations between EU ambassadors in recent weeks, the Netherlands led a push supported by a dozen countries to introduce positive language toward Washington in the text. This would make it easier to sell military products across the Atlantic amid calls by U.S. Vice President JD Vance for Europe to buy more American defense gear. 

Nevertheless, pro-U.S. language has been absent from the drafts circulated so far and seen by POLITICO because of resistance from the French government, an EU official familiar with the discussions said. Greater openness toward Canada and the U.K is more likely to materialize, several diplomats said.   

Šadžius cautioned against excluding the Americans. “The U.S. is […] maybe the most important member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. So they have been, are and will remain very important defense partners for the Europeans,” he said.

Lithuania’s finance minister pointed out that NATO’s defense capabilities are particularly crucial to ensure his country’s continued security against Russia.  

“For all border states that are on the front line with hostile neighbors, the participation of the United States [within NATO’s framework] is absolutely crucially important.”

Separately, Šadžius described the upcoming EU-U.K. summit as “key for concluding the [defense] partnership between the U.K. and the European Union.” 

The EU and the U.K will meet on Monday for a long-awaited summit that is expected to pave the way for closer security and defense relations after Brexit — provided that other thorny issues like fisheries are sorted.

A positive outcome would also speed up the approval of the SAFE regulation, since the role of the U.K is one of the key outstanding topics.  

“Participation of these partners should be properly regulated in the legislative package. So that they would not be cut artificially from the defense community in Europe” Šadžius said.