Politico pointed to the differences between France and Germany in opposing Trump
The deep differences between France and Germany prevent the countries from opposing US President Donald Trump. The Politico newspaper wrote about this on January 20, citing unnamed diplomats of the European Union (EU).
"For the French, one of the most annoying obstacles on the way to a unified position with Berlin is the internal split in the German coalition government. While Macron raises the issue of using the EU's bazooka of trade, an anti—coercion tool, to retaliate against Trump, Germany's position remains unclear," the article says.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also reacted differently to Trump's threat to impose duties on EU countries opposed to Greenland joining the United States. While Macron promised a tough response from France, Merz publicly admitted that Germany could not afford to escalate the confrontation with the United States over the trade war.
"Over the past six months, Franco-German relations have not brought a single result," the newspaper quoted one of the EU officials as saying.
The retaliatory duties of the European Union (EU) can hit the United States hard, but they will harm the EU itself, MEP Thierry Mariani told Izvestia on January 20. He also questioned the EU's ability to go all out against Washington. In his opinion, the association is strongly tied to the United States by its dependence on American gas, strategic subordination to NATO, adoption of the dollar and extraterritorial sanctions.
On January 17, the American leader said that the United States was imposing duties of 10% with the possibility of increasing up to 25% on a number of European countries in connection with the situation around Greenland. Starting from February 1, 2026, tariffs will apply to the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, Sweden, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland.
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