“We are not in an era of change,” former vice president of the European Parliament Mario Mauro, told public relations and public affairs professionals at the PRovoke EMEA Summit in London last week, “but in a change of era.”

Speaking on the day that US President Donald Trump had described as “Liberation Day,” ahead of the imposition of massive new tariffs on countries around the world, Mauro warned that “the most particular and interesting thing is the crisis of the transatlantic relationship.”

Mauro appeared on stage with SEC Newgate’s Allie Renison, former policy adviser to the UK’s Secretary of State for Business & Trade, at a session entitled “Redefining Public Affairs in a New Global Order” and the two discussed a wide range of issues, including fractures in the relationship between Europe and the US, the need for closer ties with the post-Brexit UK, and the threat on Europe’s eastern borders.

Discussing Trump’s obsession with trade deficits, Mauro asked: Why President Trump is so angry with Europe? Why President Trump is so afraid? I think that the response is very simple. Because trade.

“First, trade is one domain where the European Union holds primary competence. Henry Kissinger famously asked which number he should call to speak with Europe. In this case, the number exists. It leads to the Parliament building in Brussels, and there are sectors where European exports are crucial to the US economy.”

He mentioned steel, particularly vital to the US aerospace and defense industries. 

“Second,” he said, “the EU is actively pushing for closer partnerships with what Ursula von der Leyen calls like-minded partners, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. With South Korea and Singapore, innovative trade solutions have been implemented for the first time, particularly free trade agreements that focus on the digital service and data markets.”

The agreement with Japan is also crucial, he said, because it addresses key sectors such as the automotive industry and semiconductor technology, and aims to expand advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity between Europe and Japan by 2027.

“And then, last but not least, there is an elephant in the room.” He pointed to the recent visit by Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations ^ Transparency to Beijing, which he said “underscores the EU's commitment to upholding its core principles of free markets and free trade.

“The European Commission is willing to engage with all key players interested in finding a solution to the commercially aggressive policies of the US.”

Europe needs to be willing to stand up for values of freedom and democracy—including free trade, especially with authoritarian regimes working together more closely than in the past.

“Today, 56% of the world's population currently live under an authoritarian regime,” he said. “We as Europe are a small minority. And our democracies and our civil liberties remain far from the everyday experience of most of the world's population.” And he acknowledged that “in recent years, our liberal democracies have struggled to address significant social and political challenges, putting their resilience at risk.

“Meanwhile, autocracies are not only surviving, but actively expanding and consolidating their control across the globe.” He pointed to “the mutual support mechanism” between authoritarian regumesn, including in the case of the Russian assault on Ukraine. “The supply chain of Russia becomes the link at the trade level with, for example, Iran or North Korea.”

Reiterating his point about the “change of era” the world is experiencing, Mauro said that in addition to his former role within the EU, he was also a former Minister of Defense for Italy, and said, “Commercial war is simply the first step of the war…. It represents also a possibility to stop the real war for the future.”

But he also warned that real war remained a possibility.

“Today is the 2nd of April, the tariff day,” he said. “But it's more interesting what happened yesterday, the 1st of April, because yesterday two European governments took decisions.

“First of all, the Republic of Finland announced the withdrawal of the Ottawa Convention, the international agreement about the use of mines. Why they announced this kind of decision? Because they concluded that war is coming and they must put mines along the borders of Finland to Russia. Abd the Polish government voted yesterday the decision to implement the number of soldiers to 500,000, the first time for this kind of implementation in Europe after World War II.”

In the face of these challenges, Mauro said, there is a need for the UK and Europe to work more closely together. He recalled: “During my time as an MEP, the relationship between the European Parliament and the UK's Conservative Party was extremely strong.” That relationship was undone by Brexit, obviously.

But “the EU-UK partnership is now at a turning point. Reaching a final agreement on the unresolved aspects of Brexit is not just necessary it represents a major opportunity. The UK and European Union are not only natural partners, particularly in the fields of defense and security, they are strategic partners for the perspective of next years.

“To defend democracies all over the world needs the link between the European Union and the United Kingdom. And the value of free trade needs to be shared by European Union and United Kingdom.”

Overall, he reminded the audience, the situation presents a huge challenge for public relations professionals.

“As professionals in public affairs consulting, we cannot ignore the critical moment in history we are witnessing. Our priority remains guiding and advising our partners and clients. This means not only staying up to date and providing compelling, effective public affair strategies, but also ensuring that our clients understand the reasoning behind our recommendation and decision.”