“This era of unconditional transatlantic friendship is probably over for the foreseeable future,” Merz told CDU members.
“On the other side of the Atlantic, we are seeing a change in political attitudes, a change in the assessment of the transatlantic alliance, which we might not have thought possible.”
The German chancellor’s statement was the latest indication of deteriorating relations between the United States and Europe following Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Bloomberg wrote.
Merz compared current relations between European countries and the United States with those that existed during visits to Berlin by former U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
His remarks came after Canadian PM Mark Carney said this
week that he was open to a proposal for Canada to become an “associated member”
of the European Union. Trump responded by threatening to impose a new round of
tariffs on the EU.