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European leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief Monday as Donald Trump focused his fire elsewhere during his inauguration speech.

Although the new US president promised “tariffs and taxes on foreign countries to improve our citizens” and announced that the US would leave the Paris agreement to limit carbon emissions, a cornerstone of EU policy, he stopped short of outlining specific measures.

European leaders chose to gloss over any potential differences with Washington, with many sending congratulations to the leader of a country that for 80 years has been essential to Europe’s security and prosperity.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council president António Costa congratulated Trump on a same message Posted by X, sending him “best wishes”.

“The EU looks forward to working closely with you to solve global challenges,” von der Leyen and Costa wrote.

Trump’s presidency has divided European politicians among some rightwing groups who see his domestic policies, including his pledge to crack down on illegal migrants, as blueprints for Europe.

Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s rightwing prime minister, was the only leader from the bloc invited to the inauguration, with top EU officials such as von der Leyen yet to hold meetings with the new president.

Meloni positions himself as an interlocutor Trump on behalf of the EU, write X: “Italy is always committed to consolidating the dialogue between the United States and Europe, as a key pillar for the stability and growth of our communities.”

Several far-right party leaders, including those from Belgium, Germany, Spain and France also attended the inauguration.

They want Trump to weaken Brussels, allowing national capitals greater control, and reverse policies to cut carbon emissions and police online speech.

Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s far-right prime minister, said Trump’s return would fuel a nationalist rightwing revival across the bloc. “With this I launched the second phase of the offensive aimed at occupying Brussels,” he said on Monday.

Other politicians seeking to align themselves with the new US president include Polish President Andrzej Duda, who told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos: “I have no doubts about I have a good relationship with President Donald Trump and I don’t have to stand up to a crowd to show these good relationships.”

Meanwhile, EU economic commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels reminded the new US president that “the EU and US have the largest trade and investment relationship in the world. There is a lot at stake here economically.”

He warned that if tariffs are imposed, the EU is ready to retaliate with its own measures, as it did during the previous Trump presidency. “If there is a need to protect the economic interests of Europe, we are ready to do it,” said Dombrovskis.

Trump also told Europe it must pay more for its defense, and proposed raising NATO contributions to 5 percent of GDP. Many alliance members are still below the current 2 percent goal.

NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte on Monday promised that the alliance will increase military spending during the president’s new term. “With President Trump back in office, we will turbocharge defense spending and production,” Rutte written in X on Monday.

The EU, however, is divided on how to fund the increase.

Guy Verhofstadt, the former prime minister of Belgium and president of the pro-EU campaign group European Movement International, expressed in X that the bloc was “totally unprepared for this wild new world”.

“Welcome to a new era of US governance by oligarchy, where the billionaire members of Mar-a-Lago decide US policy. And guess what? The protection of the European Union or the standards of living of Europeans is not on their priority list!

EU business leaders are also preparing themselves for the next four years. A survey by AmCham EU, which represents US companies with operations in the EU, reported that nine out of 10 expect EU-US trade and investment relations to worsen.

About two-thirds expect US policies to have a negative impact on their operations in the EU.

Additional reporting by Raphael Minder in Warsaw