The EU authorities are worried that global markets are too reliant on the US dollar. Such a conclusion was made by the European Commission after top EU officials had assessed the outcome of Donald Trump’s presidency. Indeed, the 45th President threatened the EU with sanctions and posed financial risks, thus exposing the EU’s vulnerability and causing 4-year frustration. The Trump area made Brussels revise its stance on relations with the US and the US dollar. So, the EU authorities have set plans to curb the US dollar’s supremacy and perhaps take the lead in the de-dollarization campaign. Indeed, the euro is the only currency which is able to outpace the US dollar in global markets.
“The Trump years highlighted our vulnerabilities, and we need to address those even if he’s gone,” said a commission official. “It’s about the EU’s place in the world — having the means to be an economic and financial power commensurate with our size.” The European Commission had begun discussing appropriate measures before Joe Biden was inaugurated as the next US President on January 20. The draft resolution was adopted on January 19. Brussels toughed its rhetoric on the US dollar after Trump’s administration had slapped sanctions against Iran. This move affected Europe-based financial infrastructure, such as the Swift payment messaging system and the Euroclear and Clearstream securities depositories. In response, the European Commission found it appropriate to “shield” the bloc from “the effects of unlawful extraterritorial application” of such measures.
