BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Europe’s most influential leader, has concluded, after three days of trans-Atlantic meetings, that the United States of President Trump is not the reliable partner her country and the Continent have automatically depended on in the past.
Clearly disappointed with Trump’s reluctance to publicly endorse NATO’s doctrine of collective defense — or to agree to common European positions on Russia, climate change, or global trade — Merkel said in Munich on Sunday that traditional alliances were no longer as steadfast as they once were.
She said Europe should pay more attention to its own interests “and really take our fate into our own hands.’’
Her strong comments were a further indication that Trump’s trip did not go down well with major European leaders and seems to have increased trans-Atlantic strains rather than diminished them.
“This seems to be the end of an era, one in which the United States led and Europe followed,’’ said Ivo H. Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO and head of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
“Today, the United States is heading into a direction on key issues that seems diametrically opposite of where Europe is heading,’’ he said. “Merkel’s comments are an acknowledgment of that new reality.’’
Merkel, who did not mention Trump by name, also spoke of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, which means the bloc will lose its second-largest economy and one of its two nuclear powers.
“The times in which we could rely fully on others — they are somewhat over,’’ Merkel said, speaking on the campaign trail after a contentious NATO summit meeting in Brussels and a Group of 7 meeting in Italy. “This is what I experienced in the last few days.’’
Given this new context, she said, “that is why I can only say that we Europeans must really take our fate into our own hands — of course in friendship with the United States of America, in friendship with Great Britain, and as good neighbors wherever that is possible also with other countries, even with Russia.’’
But Europe must stand up for its own interests and become more self-reliant, she said, including on defense, an issue she has raised often since the British vote to withdraw from the bloc.
Merkel seemed to be calling for German voters to get accustomed to a more active European role — and to more involvement by Berlin in crises on the Continent as well as global ones affecting Europe’s future. German parliamentary elections, in which Merkel is seeking a fourth term as chancellor, will be held in September.
