The United States will not be allowed to dictate Europe's economic and political agenda, European Commission President Romano Prodi said today.
Still seething over recently imposed US tariffs on EU steel exports, he said Brussels was not seeking a transatlantic confrontation - but would not be driven by Mr George W Bush's domestic priorities.
Mr Bush has slapped the new tariffs on most European steel in a bid to bail out America's own struggling steel makers.
Today Mr Prodi announced the EU's own import tariffs on steel from elsewhere in the world, which Brussels fears will be diverted into European markets now that American outlets are virtually closed.
Mr Prodi insisted today the new measures were strictly limited and in line with the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
And he said they would last not one day longer than the American tariffs against European steel.
Then Mr Prodi issued his warning to Mr Bush that Europe was "standing on its own two feet".
The Commission president told the news conference: "The European Union is not seeking confrontation with America. We are simply defending our national interests. We are not letting someone else dictate our agenda."
He said yesterday's decision by EU governments to build a €3.4 billion satellite network to rival America's own GPS system demonstrated European independence.
PA