Donald Trump NATO meeting: Angela Merkel suggests Europe can’t rely on US, UK as much anymore
DONALD Trump has been accused of inflaming tensions on his trip to Europe, leading to a “grim” assessment of his leadership.
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has been accused of using his first European trip to inflame tensions with old allies, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the continent could no longer rely on the United States.
Speaking at a campaign event held in a Bavarian beer tent, Ms Merkel suggested the G7 summit in Italy served as a wakeup call, signalling a dramatic shift in post-war western diplomacy, in what some have interpreted as the harshest review of Trump’s trip yet.
“The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days,” Ms Merkel said.
“And so all I can say is that we Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.”
While emphasising the need for continued friendly relations with the US and Britain, Ms Merkel also stressed the importance of being good neighbours “wherever that is possible, including with Russia, but also with others.”
“But we need to know we must fight for our own future, as Europeans, for our destiny,” she said.
Ms Merkel’s comments were also directed at the UK, which is preparing to leave the EU.
It also comes amid dramatic shifts in leadership and direction in the past year within the US and the UK.
The Washington Postcalled her declaration “a grim take on the trans-Atlantic ties that have underpinned Western security in the generations since World War II.”
Stephan Bierling, an expert on trans-Atlantic relations at Germany’s University of Regensburg told the Post many Germans felt they could not longer rely on the US as reliable partner.
“After the inauguration, everyone in Europe was hopeful that Trump would become more moderate and take into account the positions of the G7 and of NATO, but the opposite has happened. It’s as if he is still trying to win a campaign.”
Meanwhile the BBC’s Damien McGuinness called Mrs Merkel’s comments “a sign of growing assertiveness within the EU.”
He said Mrs Merkel was sounding confident and looking more towards her French counterpart “who shares her pro free-trade, Europhile values, so there is a positive feeling in Europe that the EU’s Franco-German motor is back in business.”
‘DIFFICULT, UNSATIFACTORY’
Mr Trump has cast doubt over the future of his country’s participation in the Paris climate accord.
Mrs Merkel described the “six against one” discussion about the Paris Accord during the G7 summit in Sicily as “very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory”.
G7 leaders were unable to reach unanimous agreement on climate change after Mr Trump said he needed more time to decide whether to back a key climate accord.
The US President’s support of NATO has also come under the spotlight after he blasted leaders for not spending enough on defence.
The President also had tough words for German trade.
Mr Trump called Germany “bad, very bad” on trade because of the success of German companies in selling cars and other goods to US customers.
But Mrs Merkel wouldn’t be the first European leader to make an assertive stand against Mr Trump in recent days.
On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Trump were pictured in a white knuckle handshake.
Mr Macron said his handshake showdown was “a moment of truth” designed to show that he’s no pushover.
The two men locked hands for so long that their knuckles started turning white with the French leader holding the shake for a few seconds more.
Mr Macron told a Sunday newspaper in France that “my handshake with him, it wasn’t innocent.”
“One must show that you won’t make small concessions, even symbolic ones, but also not overpublicise things, either.”
AWKWARD TRIP
Mr Trump’s first major overseas trip as President has been an unusual one.
During his travels in the Middle East and Europe, he made no attempt to promote democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia and he did not advocate the two-state solution the US has long supported when in Israel and the West Bank.
A series of awkward moments made the most headlines during the trip, from first lady Melania’s apparent reluctance to hold his hand, to the Pope’s unhappy expression during their meeting at the Vatican, to his shoving aside of Montenegro’s prime minister to get to the front of a pack of leaders at a NATO photo opportunity.
Mr Trump was also accused of not listening to a translation of his host’s speech at the G7 summit in Italy.
Other world leaders were paying close attention to Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni’s words through their headpieces, but Mr Trump was not wearing the same bulky headphones and appeared distracted.
However the White House insisted he was listening and was wearing a single earpiece in one ear.
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