Angela Merkel: Europe Can No Longer Rely on U.S. Protection
Source: Newsweek Magazine
BY DAMIEN SHARKOV ON 5/10/18 AT 11:23 AM
Europe cannot put all of its trust in the U.S. when it comes to protection and should instead “take its destiny into its own hands,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.
The German leader spoke about European unity at an award ceremony in the city of Aachen, where she praised French President Emmanuel Macron for his "contagious enthusiasm" about the continent and said this would inspire young Europeans. She reiterated a concern from last year that, considering the threats “at Europe’s doorstep,” U.S. protection is not implicitly reliable anymore.
“It’s no longer the case that the United States will simply just protect us,” Merkel said, according to a live broadcast by Deutsche Welle on Periscope. “Let’s face it: Europe is still in its infancy with regard to the common foreign policy,” Merkel said, but she stressed the need for nations to close ranks against common threats. “That is the task for the future.”
Merkel made a similar appeal a year ago, following visits by President Donald Trump to her country and the NATO alliance in neighboring Belgium. The chancellor hinted that Trump’s “America first” slogan and his frequent clashes with U.S. allies across the Atlantic were indicative of a wider schism in the western alliance.
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/europe-cannot-fully-rely-us-protection-anymore-says-germanys-merkel-919410
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