Manfred Weber, leader of the European Parliament’s largest political group, called for the European Union to take a tougher trade stance toward China, warning that Beijing’s industrial overcapacity threatens Europe’s manufacturing base.
“The time of naivety is over,” Weber told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag on June 7. “We must defend European interests more clearly, more firmly, and more consistently.”
Weber is chairman of the Group of the European People’s Party, the center-right bloc that is the largest political group in the European Parliament. He is also a vice chairman of Germany’s Christian Social Union.
His remarks add pressure from Europe’s center-right before a June 18–19 meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, where the European Council’s provisional agenda includes global economic challenges….
Leader of European Parliament’s Largest Bloc Calls for Tougher China Trade Policy
