• German foreign minister wants Europe to form a "counterweight" to the US
    12 replies, posted
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-wants-europe-to-form-a-counterweight-to-us/a-45168108 German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said that Europe should form a "counterweight" to the United States whenever Washington "crosses red lines." In a guest article for German business newspaper Handelsblatt, Maas said Germany wants a "balanced partnership" with the United States, in which it "brings its weight where the US withdraws." "Single-handedly, we will fail in this task. The main goal of our foreign policy is therefore to build a sovereign, strong Europe," Maas wrote. Maas' article comes in the backdrop of strained relations between the US and its European allies after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the EU and pulled out of a nuclear deal between Iran and major powers. Europe has been scrambling to persuade Tehran to remain in the 2015 accord. But with European firms wary of far-reaching US financial penalties, it's proving to be a challenge. Maas said Europe needs to set up payment systems independent of the US if it wants to save the nuclear deal. "That's why it is indispensable that we strengthen European autonomy by creating payment channels that are independent of the United States, a European Monetary Fund and an independent SWIFT system," Maas wrote. "Every day the deal is alive is better than the highly explosive crisis that would otherwise threaten the Middle East." Iran called on Europe to speed up efforts to save the deal after French oil group Total formally pulled out of a major gas project on Monday. The EU has vowed to counter Trump's renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures. "Given the circumstances, it is of strategic importance that we tell Washington clearly: we want to work together," Maas wrote. "But we will not allow you to hurt our interests without consulting us."
Fair cop seeing as the US currently seems more interested in navel-gazing
been friends for decades, undone so quickly.
DAMN IT. I JUST MENTIONED THAT THE US SHOULD PURSUE CLOSER TIES WITH EUROPE AND THIS IS POSTED. sorry fellas, I jinxed it.
eh they know that he has somewhere between 6 and 2 years left, they can wait him out if need be. the problem is we're trying to export far right conservatism in a part of the world that has committed the bloodiest acts because of that form of politicking
Wait him out? What makes you think that another demagogue won't take his place after two terms? Your system has proven to be broken and nothing has been done so far to alleviate that. The democratic opposition has learned nothing from the 2016 elections and continue to push their corporate agenda. When Trump has proven that even a dumbass such as him can get away with basically anything unopposed, other, smarter ambitious people have been taking notes on the sidelines, waiting for their turn. Let's not even talk about how much grasp authoritarian Russia has over your foreign policy and sovereignty, which in and of itself is incredibly dangerous. We have everything to lose by "waiting Trump out", and everything to gain by taking the reins ourselves rather than rely on your unstable, untrustworthy nation.
lol, the time of entitlement and "wait for us" is over for US. It's time to cut the dead weight before EU gets dragged down and sinks.
About fucking time
Good luck guys. Maybe one day we'll see you again.
I'm not happy this is happening, but I don't think you guys shouldering responsibility for this kinda stuff is a bad thing.
Honestly, this is the part I find scariest in all of this. Look at all the damage that Trump has done, and now imagine what it would be like if it were someone who actually knew what they were doing.
Pretty sure the GOP president after the Dem after Trump will be just as bad as Trump. And the GOP president after the Dem after him and so on.
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