Merkel, Trump go head-to-head

‘GERMANY, EU TWO SIDES OF SAME COIN’ Russia, Ukraine likely to figure high on the agenda.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will for the first time tomorrow meet US President Donald Trump whose arrival in the White House has sent shockwaves in Europe.

While former president Barack Obama had labelled Merkel his “closest international partner”, there has been little known contact between the German leader and Trump since he took office.

Trump’s criticism of Germany over issues ranging from its record trade surplus to Merkel’s liberal refugee stance, as well as his backing for Britain to leave the European Union, have not gone down well in Berlin.

A month after US Vice-President Mike Pence delivered a message to Europe underscoring the importance of transatlantic ties, tomorrow’s meeting will be scrutinised for clues on whether Trump endorses that message.

The reserved German leader herself underlined that she is travelling to Washington not only as Germany’s leader, but also as an envoy of the EU.

“I will of course point out that for us, our country and our membership in the European Union are two sides of the same coin,” Merkel said in Brussels.

Siemens boss Joe Kaeser and BMW’s Harald Krueger will be part of the group, and both will likely be trumpeting the thousands of jobs linked to their investments in the US.

Krueger will also be keen to persuade Trump, who has singled out BMW for hefty tariffs if it built a factory in Mexico, to reconsider the threat.

While Merkel is a firm believer in the European Union and globalisation, Trump cheers Britain’s departure from the EU and scrapped the TPP free trade deal in his first days in office.

The two also differ on immigration policies – she slammed his ban on citizens from mainly Muslim countries, while he criticised as “catastrophic” her liberal refugee stance that led more than a million asylum-seekers into Germany.

And while Merkel, a trained physicist, rarely makes public statements deviating from a thoroughly researched text, Trump does not hold back on announcing US policy upheavals.

Merkel had already set the tone from the beginning, when in their first phone conversation, she reminded Trump of democratic values while offering cooperation.

With Trump’s latest bid to temporarily close US borders to refugees and citizens from six mainly Muslim countries, expectations will be high for Merkel to raise human rights issues.

The US president will also be “very interested in hearing her insights on what it’s like to deal with the Russians” and Merkel’s views on resolving the Ukraine conflict, said an official. – AFP