Merkel urged Europe to show confidence when engaging with Trump
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Europe to act more confidently when interacting with US President-elect Donald Trump. This was reported by the German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on January 18.
Merkel, in her memoirs, called Trump a special president who protects U.S. interests, but in multilateral cooperation does not believe in the possibility of a situation where both sides benefit.
"We are not going to change Donald Trump, but we can respond to him. Europe must unite its interests and show more self-confidence," FAZ quoted the former chancellor as saying.
Earlier, on January 15, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said that Trump does not care about the European Union (EU), which is currently in crisis.
Before that, on January 14, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it was necessary to closely observe the ways in which the president-elect would "make America even greater." He emphasized that the U.S. seeks to get rid of competitors in every sphere. Lavrov cited the destruction of the European Union's energy prosperity through undermining pipelines as an example.
In December 2024, Trump threatened the EU with increased import duties if the association does not increase purchases of American energy resources. Before that, in November, The Washington Post reported that the trade duties that Trump was going to impose could cause serious damage to EU countries.
