The European Union could hit the United States with counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) worth of U.S. goods if the two sides fail to reach a trade deal by Washington's August 1 deadline for imposing import levies.

The most important skill in European politics is the ability to pretend that all is well. In London, Paris, Berlin and a dozen other capitals, the order of the day is continuing the series of polite lies that exculpate a generation of politicians from bearing responsibility for their failures.