Right from the start, the EU was all about pushing something called the “social market economy”. It’s deliberately at odds with the USA’s idea of the free market.
Yes, Europe had every intention of challenging the US economically, with eventually having a military which would also challenge the US.
It is no accident that most of the immigrants they accept are military age men. They have not been an ally of this country for decades. We would be foolish to consider them anything other than an opponent.