Depois das declarações de Merkel dirigidas a Trump e ao Reino Unido. Depois do aperto de mão simbólico com Trump, Macron promete firmeza no seu encontro com Putin.
OVOODOCORVO
What Angela Merkel meant at the
Munich beer hall
Spoiler alert: The German chancellor
didn’t just throw in the towel on the alliance with America.
By MATTHEW
KARNITSCHNIG 5/28/17, 11:31 PM CET
Updated 5/29/17, 8:07 AM CET
BERLIN — Did Angela Merkel just draw a line under the
Western postwar order?
A comment by Merkel on a campaign stop in a Bavarian beer
tent on Sunday sent the liberal Twittersphere into a frenzy (Edward Snowden
called it “an era-defining moment.”) Merkel, mentioning both the U.S. and
Brexit, told her audience it was time for Europe to “take our fate into our own
hands.”
“The era in which we could fully rely on others is over to
some extent,” Merkel said, before adding, “That’s what I experienced over the
past several days.”
The qualifiers “fully” and “some extent” weren’t unintentional;
with this German chancellor, little is.
So what at first listen may sound like a major departure
from Germany’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance is, in fact, consistent
with Merkel’s rhetoric ever since Donald Trump was elected U.S. president. It’s
also in keeping with her agenda to push European integration forward, a goal
she believes the election of Emmanuel Macron as French president has put within
reach. And it may signal that Merkel, for the first time in her dozen years in
power and approaching her fourth election in September, sees Europe as a vote
winner as it was for Macron.
Merkel has been subtly distancing herself from Trump for
months. Addressing Europe’s transatlantic ties back in January, she said:
“There are no unlimited guarantees for close cooperation with us Europeans.
That’s why I’m convinced that Europe and the EU will have to learn to take more
responsibility in the future.”
She added that it would be “naïve” for Europe to “always
depend on others to resolve problems in our neighborhood.”
German Chancellor and Chairwoman of the German Christian
Democrats (CDU) Angela Merkel gestures during a speech at the Trudering fest on
May 28, 2017 in Munich
While timing is everything in politics and the juxtaposition
of Merkel’s comments just hours after a divisive G7 summit is notable, it would
be a mistake to read too much into them.
Were Merkel to signal a German pivot away from the U.S., she
would hardly choose a Bavarian beer party as the venue.
Like any good politician, Merkel knows how to play to her
audience. And in Germany, a healthy dose of U.S. criticism always goes down
well, especially in the age of Trump — and as an added benefit, just a few
months before a national election. Recall that Gerhard Schröder used German
distaste for George W. Bush and a still-to-come war in Iraq to help him to an
electoral romp in 2002. And for her part, Merkel hasn’t shied from embracing a
still popular America president in Germany, Barack Obama, whom she hosted in
Berlin only on Thursday, the same day she met Trump in Brussels. There’s a
difference between German chancellors’ views about the U.S. and the person in
charge at any given time.
It’s possible that Sunday marked the beginning of a tectonic
shift away from the U.S., but it’s also too early to say. Speaking on Sunday,
European Council President Donald Tusk suggested the EU has little to gain from
going ahead on its own — even if it wanted to.
That said, were Merkel, ever a cautious leader, to signal a
German pivot away from the U.S., she would hardly choose a Bavarian beer party
as the venue.
While it’s no secret that Merkel and Trump don’t see
eye-to-eye on several fronts, including on climate and trade, the German
leader, a long-term strategist, would no more call Germany’s relationship with
the U.S. into question than she would her country’s European commitment.
For better or worse, the U.S., both in terms of trade and
security, is Germany’s indispensable partner, a reality even Trump is unlikely to
change any time soon. Whether on Russia, or NATO, or even the Paris climate
change pact that spoiled the G7 party in Sicily, Merkel has time and again made
clear that in her view, no matter who sits in the White House, Europe needs
America.
Authors:
Matthew Karnitschnig
Angela Merkel: EU cannot completely
rely on US and Britain any more
German chancellor tells election
rally in Munich that Europe must take its fate into its own hands after
‘unsatisfactory’ G7 talks
Jon Henley European affairs correspondent
@jonhenley
Sunday 28 May 2017 23.28 BST First published on Sunday 28
May 2017 16.42 BST
Europe can no longer completely rely on its longstanding
British and US allies, Angela Merkel has warned – saying the EU must now be
prepared to “take its fate into its own hands”.
Speaking after bruising meetings of Nato and the G7 group of
wealthy nations last week, the German chancellor suggested the postwar western
alliance had been badly undermined by the UK’s Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s
election as US president.
“The times in which we could completely depend on others
are, to a certain extent, over,” she told an election rally in Munich on
Sunday. “I’ve experienced that in the last few days. We Europeans truly have to
take our fate into our own hands.”
The chancellor told a 2,500-strong crowd in the Bavarian
capital that Germany and Europe would naturally strive to remain on good terms
with the US, Britain and other countries, “even with Russia”, but added: “We
have to know that we must fight for our future on our own, for our destiny as
Europeans.”
The two-day G7 summit in Italy pitted the US president –
whom Merkel did not mention by name – against the leaders of Germany, France,
Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues.
The leaders vowed to fight protectionism, reiterating a
“commitment to keep our markets open”; step up pressure on North Korea;
cooperate more closely on terrorism; and look into placing tougher sanctions on
Russia.
But while six of the seven renewed their commitment to the
2015 Paris accord on climate change, Trump said he needed more time to decide.
During his election campaign, Trump frequently questioned
the value of the EU, welcomed Britain’s vote to leave the bloc and spoke
positively of anti-EU politicians such as the French far-right leader Marine Le
Pen.
Merkel said the result of the talks, which she described as
“six against one”, was “very difficult, if not to say very unsatisfactory”.
Trump was more positive on Twitter, saying: “Just returned from Europe. Trip
was a great success for America. Hard work but big results!”
At the Nato summit in Brussels on Thursday, Trump repeated
past accusations that other members of the alliance were failing to match
America’s military spending commitment of 2% of GDP, saying this was “not fair”
on US taxpayers.
He failed to endorse the pact’s article five mutual defence
clause – an omission seen as especially striking as he was unveiling a memorial
to those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US, the only time it
has been triggered.
The US president reportedly described German trade practices
as “bad, very bad” in separate talks in Brussels and complained that Germany,
Europe’s largest economy, sells too many cars to the US.
By contrast, Merkel said she wished the new French
president, Emmanuel Macron, every success and promised Germany would do what it
could to help France in a bid to revive the ailing Franco-German engine that
long powered Europe.
“Where Germany can help, Germany will help,” she said to
loud applause, “because Germany can only do well if Europe is doing well.”
Responding to Merkel’s plea for EU unity, likely to be
significant in view of Britain’s upcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU27,
the Liberal Democrats said they were the “inevitable outcome” of Theresa May’s
decision to position herself closeley with Trump.
“The prime minister has allied herself with Donald Trump and
these comments are the inevitable outcome,” Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said. “It
doesn’t have to be this way; a vote for the Liberal Democrats can change
Britain’s future.”
Merkel, who faces a delicate balancing act in seeking to
preserve the transatlantic alliance while campaigning for re-election, was
unusually blunt in her assessment Trump’s refusal to commit on climate change –
a key concern for many German voters.
Polls show the chancellor, in power since 2005, is on course
to be re-elected for a fourth term in September, with her lead in the polls
over a revived Social Democrat opposition widening to double digits.
The Paris accords were “not just any old agreement, but a
central agreement for shaping globalisation,” the German chancellor said,
stressing that there were at present “no signs of whether the US will stay in
the Paris accords or not”.
Macron, however, was more optimistic about the relationship
with Trump. “I met a leader who has strong convictions on a number of subjects,
some of which I share, such as terrorism or upholding our rank in the league of
nations,” the French president said.
“It was a first experience for both of us and he saw the
interest of a multilateral discussion.” Macron added that the two days of
wrangling represented “progress”, and refusing to enter into a “logic of six
against one”.
“It’s not in our interest,” he said. “There are
disagreements around the table. There was one at this point on climate, but I
hope we’ll reduce that gap. Mr Trump is a pragmatist and I’m hopeful that once
he considers all the arguments we made and in the interests of his country he
will confirm his commitment.”
New French president promises tough
talk at first Putin meeting
By Michel Rose and John Irish | VERSAILLES, FRANCE
New French President Emmanuel Macron is promising tough talk
at his first meeting with Vladimir Putin on Monday, following an election
campaign when his team accused Russian media of trying to interfere in the
democratic process.
Macron, who took office two weeks ago, has said that
dialogue with Russia is vital in tackling a number of international disputes.
Nevertheless, relations have been beset by mistrust, with Paris and Moscow
backing opposing sides in the Syrian civil war and at odds over the Ukraine
conflict.
Fresh from talks with his Western counterparts at a NATO
meeting in Brussels and a G7 summit in Sicily, Macron will host the Russian
president at the palace of Versailles outside Paris.
Amid the baroque splendor, Macron will use an exhibition on
Russian Tsar Peter the Great at the former royal palace to try to get
Franco-Russian relations off to a new start.
"It's indispensable to talk to Russia because there are
a number of international subjects that will not be resolved without a tough
dialogue with them," Macron said.
"I will be demanding in my exchanges with Russia,"
the 39-year-old president told reporters at the end of the G7 summit on
Saturday, where the Western leaders agreed to consider new measures against
Moscow if the situation in Ukraine did not improve.
Relations between Paris and Moscow were increasingly
strained under former President Francois Hollande. Putin, 64, canceled his last
planned visit in October after Hollande said he would see him only for talks on
Syria.
Then during the French election campaign the Macron camp
alleged Russian hacking and disinformation efforts, at one point refusing
accreditation to the Russian state-funded Sputnik and RT news outlets which it
said were spreading Russian propaganda and fake news.
Two days before the May 7 election runoff, Macron's team
said thousands of hacked campaign emails had been put online in a leak that one
New York-based analyst said could have come from a group tied to Russian
military intelligence.
Moscow and RT itself rejected allegations of meddling in the
election.
Putin also offered Macron's far-right opponent Marine Le Pen
a publicity coup when he granted her an audience a month before the election's
first round.
Macron decisively beat Le Pen, an open Putin admirer, and
afterwards the Russian president said in a congratulatory message that he
wanted to put mistrust aside and work with him.
Hollande's former diplomatic adviser, Jacques Audibert,
noted how Putin had been excluded from what used to be the Group of Eight
nations as relations with the West soured. Meeting in a palace so soon after
the G7 summit was a clever move by Macron.
"Putin likes
these big symbolic things. I think it's an excellent political opportunity, the
choice of place is perfect," he told CNews TV. "It adds a bit of
grandeur to welcome Putin to Versailles."
The Versailles exhibition commemorates a visit to France 300
years ago by Peter the Great, known for his European tastes.
A Russian official told reporters in Moscow on Friday that
the meeting was an opportunity "to get a better feel for each other"
and that the Kremlin expected "a frank conversation" on Syria.
While Moscow backs President Bashar al-Assad, France
supports rebel groups trying to overthrow him. France has also taken a tough
line on European Union sanctions on Russia, first imposed when it annexed
Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and cancelled a $1.3 billion warship supply
contract in 2015.
During the
campaign, Macron backed expanded sanctions if there were no progress with
Moscow implementing a peace accord for eastern Ukraine, where Kiev's forces
have been battling pro-Russian separatists.
Since being elected, Macron appears to have toned down the
rhetoric, although he noted the two leaders still had "diverging
positions" in their first phone call.
Macron has said his priority in Syria was crushing the
Islamic State group, which will resonate with Putin.
One French diplomat said Macron was insisting on talking
more after several years when everyone took France's hard line for granted,
making compromise difficult.
"Macron gave himself enough wiggle room, which opens up
a new diplomatic and political window," said the diplomat.
(Editing by Adrian Croft and David Stamp)
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