STRASBOURG, Jan 21 — Diversity, equality and inclusion are “at the core” of the European Union project, the bloc’s equality chief said yesterday, doubling down on policies under attack from US President Donald Trump.

Equality commissioner Hadja Lahbib highlighted the stark contrast between Brussels and Washington over the issue as she presented a new “anti-racism” strategy in Strasbourg.

“When it comes to the Americans, they do what they want. They can mock, but we are not like this. These are our values. This is who we are,” she told a press briefing, replying to a reporter’s question.

Trump infamously mocked a disabled reporter in 2015 as he ran for president a first time in 2015.

Since returning to the White House last year, the American leader has moved to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across the US federal government.

He has also threatened companies that practise such policies, including European firms, claiming they discriminate against white people.

“When it comes to diversity, inclusion and equality, this is at the core of the European project, and we are going to defend it strongly, especially today, as it is put into question,” Lahbib said.

Diversity was good for the economy, she added, saying that racial and ethnic discrimination cost Europe almost €13 billion (RM61.8 billion) annually in lost growth.

“We will do everything to attract people from different backgrounds,” she said.

The EU’s new “anti-racism” strategy envisages stiffening sanctions against discrimination and strengthening equality bodies among other things.

The Trump administration has been brutally critical of Europe, describing it in its national security strategy last month as facing “civilisational erasure” from migration and calling for “cultivating resistance” among hard-right parties.

“When they say that we are losing our own identities, they shouldn’t forget that Trump basically is from German descent, I think that his wife is Slovenian,” Lahbib said.

Her comments come as EU-US relations hit a historic low with Trump pushing to gain ownership of Greenland from Denmark and threatening tariffs to get his way. — AFP