Agency Report –
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has urged the preservation of Europe’s transatlantic partnership with the United States ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
The partnership was even more indispensable today than it was a few years ago, Merkel said on Saturday in the western German city of Dusseldorf.
Without the support of the US and NATO, Ukraine could not have remained a sovereign state after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Merkel stressed.
With Moscow’s attack, the basic principle of the European post-war order – territorial inviolability – was overridden, according to the former German leader.
Merkel – who led Germany from 2005 to 2021 – described Trump as a “special president” defending “the legitimate interests” of his country.
But in multilateral cooperation, he did not believe in “win-win situations,” instead believing that there is always a winner and a loser, she noted.
“We will not change Donald Trump, but we can react to him,” said Merkel. Europe must pool its interests, she continued, as the US would also be ill-advised if it did not seek an ally in Europe.
“We are also a strong factor,” said Merkel.
Almost 80 years after the end of World War II, the issue of war and peace is once again “on our doorstep and is not an abstract discussion,” said Merkel.
A “credible deterrent” requires significantly higher spending on defence. This should be more rather than less than 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), said Merkel, referring to the NATO spending target.
Trump recently demanded that NATO members spend 5% of GDP on defence.
