Europe cannot rely on U.S. and U.K., warns Merkel
WASHINGTON — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated that Europe can no longer completely rely on its American and British allies, declaring that the continent’s destiny was in “our own hands.”
Her extraordinary comments followed meetings of European leaders and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with President Donald Trump at NATO and the G7 last week.
Merkel, speaking at an election campaign event in a Bavarian beer tent, said it had served as a wakeup call.
She said: "The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days.
“And so, all I can say is that we Europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands.”
Referencing England’s Brexit, she said: “Of course we need to have friendly relations with the U.S., and with the U.K., and with other neighbours, including Russia.” But she added: “We have to fight for our own future ourselves, for our destiny as Europeans.”
Merkel wished French President Emmanuel Macron success, adding: “Where Germany can help, Germany will help, because Germany can only do well if Europe is doing well.”
It came as Macron called his high-profile handshake with Trump a “moment of truth” and compared the U.S. leader to Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Macron and Trump gripped hands so firmly when they met for the first time at the NATO summit in Brussels that their knuckles appeared to turn white and their jaws clench.
The newly-elected French president said: “My handshake with him, it wasn’t innocent. One must show that you won’t make small concessions, even symbolic ones.”