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Government says Europe and America must tackle big challenges together.
French President Emmanuel Macron | Pool photo by Christian Hartmann/EFE via EPA
Germany on Monday stressed its strong commitment to close ties with Washington after French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer over a pro-American opinion article.
Macron took the unusual step of calling out a government minister from France’s key EU partner after Kramp-Karrenbauer called for an “end to illusions of European strategic autonomy” in an op-ed for POLITICO published earlier this month.
Strategic autonomy is a concept championed by Macron, who argues the EU should become more powerful on the world stage and able to operate independently in a wide range of areas, from military operations to industrial policy.
In an interview published Monday, Macron said he “profoundly” disagrees with Kramp Karrenbauer, who argued that “Europeans will not be able to replace America’s crucial role as a security provider.”
Macron told Le Grand Continent, a journal published by French think tank Groupe d’études géopolitiques, that Kramp-Karrenbauer’s view was “a historical misinterpretation” and he said Chancellor Angela Merkel does not share it.
Asked about those remarks at a press conference, German chief government spokesperson Steffen Seibert avoided saying whether Merkel shares the views of her own defense minister or the French president. But he stressed the government’s “fundamental transatlantic conviction” that Germany and Europe “must tackle the major challenges of our time together with the United States if we want to meet them effectively.”
Seibert referred to Merkel’s recent message of congratulations to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, in which the chancellor said Europe must do more for its own security and stand up for its own values, but presented those efforts as a way for Europeans to take more responsibility within the transatlantic partnership.
Seibert stressed that Berlin was “in complete agreement with our French friends that we in Europe must assume even more responsibility for our own security, for our own neighborhood.”
“We share with France the desire to be even more capable of acting independently as Europeans,” Seibert said. “The chancellor said that we have long since embarked on this path, but it must of course be continued.”
www.politico.eu
French President Emmanuel Macron | Pool photo by Christian Hartmann/EFE via EPA
Germany on Monday stressed its strong commitment to close ties with Washington after French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer over a pro-American opinion article.
Macron took the unusual step of calling out a government minister from France’s key EU partner after Kramp-Karrenbauer called for an “end to illusions of European strategic autonomy” in an op-ed for POLITICO published earlier this month.
Strategic autonomy is a concept championed by Macron, who argues the EU should become more powerful on the world stage and able to operate independently in a wide range of areas, from military operations to industrial policy.
In an interview published Monday, Macron said he “profoundly” disagrees with Kramp Karrenbauer, who argued that “Europeans will not be able to replace America’s crucial role as a security provider.”
Macron told Le Grand Continent, a journal published by French think tank Groupe d’études géopolitiques, that Kramp-Karrenbauer’s view was “a historical misinterpretation” and he said Chancellor Angela Merkel does not share it.
Asked about those remarks at a press conference, German chief government spokesperson Steffen Seibert avoided saying whether Merkel shares the views of her own defense minister or the French president. But he stressed the government’s “fundamental transatlantic conviction” that Germany and Europe “must tackle the major challenges of our time together with the United States if we want to meet them effectively.”
Seibert referred to Merkel’s recent message of congratulations to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, in which the chancellor said Europe must do more for its own security and stand up for its own values, but presented those efforts as a way for Europeans to take more responsibility within the transatlantic partnership.
Seibert stressed that Berlin was “in complete agreement with our French friends that we in Europe must assume even more responsibility for our own security, for our own neighborhood.”
“We share with France the desire to be even more capable of acting independently as Europeans,” Seibert said. “The chancellor said that we have long since embarked on this path, but it must of course be continued.”
Berlin stresses US ties after Macron knocks minister’s pro-American op-ed
Government says Europe and America must tackle big challenges together.
