Merkel takes aim at Trump
CHANCELLOR VOWS TO TAKE A STAND FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION NEXT WEEK Seeks a clear commitment to the Paris accord against global warming.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared headed for a collision course with US President Donald Trump yesterday after vowing to make a stand next week for climate protection and open markets at what is expected to be the most fractious G20 summit in years.
Merkel said discussions at the July 7-8 gathering of world leaders in Hamburg would be difficult given Trump’s climate scepticism and “America First” stance, but that she was determined to seek a clear commitment to the Paris accord against global warming.
When Trump announced in early June he would withdraw from the Paris deal, “we knew that we could not expect discussions to be easy”, Merkel told the German parliament.
“The differences are obvious and it would be dishonest to try to cover that up. That I won’t do,” she said, adding that the US exit from the 2015 Paris pact had made Europe “more determined than ever” to make the accord a success.
Without naming names, she also warned that “those who think that the problems of this world can be solved with isolationism or protectionism are terribly wrong” and pledged to seek a “clear signal for open markets and against sealing off” at the summit.
With Trump dismissing climate change, Western allies are struggling to find a common front at the gathering – unlike previous summits when differences were drawn along global north-south and east-west lines.
With Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman in the volatile mix, the list of issues include the Syrian war and the Ukraine conflict.
Trump’s anti-immigration stance has also emboldened many of the EU’s eastern ex-communist members which have opposed Merkel’s pleas to accept the refugees who have flocked to Europe.
“Merkel has called a summit between Europeans because there is a problem with the relationship with Trump,” said a diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
European affairs journal Eurativ asked: “How strongly do all these countries from Central and Eastern Europe feel about Trump? It’s difficult to say.
“Trump could become the wedge that drives the Union apart.” – AFP