German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her agreements Foreign Minister Heiko Maas regarding the ideas is his recent articles. There Maas called for more unity in Europe to counter US policies. Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said during a regular government news conference that, “the article by minister Maas conveyed much of what constitutes the common stance of the government towards the United States.” Seibert added that Maas :presented observations that are preoccupying the government – namely stronger European unity and the question of Europe taking on more responsibility. There is a lot of agreement there.”
In the article in Handelsblatt business daily titled “Making plans for a new world order“, Maas said “Europe’s relationship with the US was changing even before Donald Trump and his provocative Tweets came along.” An Germany now sees a historic opportunity to redefine EU’s role. Mass urged “Europe United”, meaning “. Europe is building on the rule of law, respect for the weaker, and our experiences that show that international cooperation is not a zero-sum game.” He added that “it is in our own interest to strengthen the European part of the North Atlantic Alliance. Not because Donald Trump is always setting new percentage targets, but because we can no longer rely on Washington to the same extent.
Also, Maas emphasized the need to expose “fake news”. For example, “if the current account balance of Europe and the US includes more than just trade in goods, then it is not the US that has a deficit, it’s Europe.” Also, ” as Europeans, we have made it clear to the Americans that we consider the withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran to be a mistake.” Maas suggested that it is “essential that we strengthen European autonomy by establishing payment channels independent of the US, a European monetary fund and an independent SWIFT [payments] system.”
Additionally, Mass said “we are striving for a multilateral alliance, a network of partners who, like us, are committed to sticking to the rules and to fair competition.” And he has met with Japan, Canada and South Korea for an alliance already and more are to follow. He is proposing an “an association of states convinced of the benefits of multilateralism, who believe in international cooperation and the rule of the law”, “alliance that supports and enhances a global, multilateral order”.
