Midterms offer Europeans to 'start sowing the seeds for broader and deeper transatlantic relations'

Further comment came from Armida van Rij, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a Brussels think tank, who warned: "Trump tends to lash out in foreign policy when he needs a distraction from domestic politics."

“If these midterm elections will go as badly for the Republicans as expected, Europeans should brace themselves. However bad Trump's instincts may be, the period after the midterms also offers an opportunity for Europeans to start sowing the seeds for broader and deeper transatlantic relations going forward, by working more closely with Congress and through the US states."

James Green, a researcher at the CER, said: "Trump's foreign policy may prove more unpredictable and hostile toward Europe following the US midterm elections. At the same time, Tuesday's elections will kick off candidates' jostling for the 2028 presidential race.

“The EU and its member-states should deepen relations with the US Congress and at the state level to blunt the impact of harmful policies in the near term and to set themselves up for more constructive relations going forward. The turnover in Congress and in state offices that Tuesday's elections will bring provides a unique opportunity for Europe to engage with a new generation of lawmakers who are key to securing the future of the transatlantic alliance."