Britain reacted Monday to Angela Merkel’s assertion that Germany could no longer “completely depend” on its traditional allies by saying it would continue to seek a “deep and special partnership” with Germany and the rest of Europe after Brexit.
Speaking less than 24 hours after the German Chancellor appeared to call Europe’s relationship with the UK and the United States into question, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Britain hopes to remain a close ally of the European Union once the UK withdraws from the bloc in two years’ time.
Britain will begin Brexit negotiations with the EU on June 20, just 12 days after the UK general election.
“As we begin the negotiations about leaving the EU, we will be able to reassure Germany and other European countries that we are going to be a strong partner to them in defense and security, and, we hope, in trade,” Rudd told the BBC.
“This is going to be the most important negotiation that this country has embarked on for many decades. Making sure that we get this right is going to be absolutely critical, and we don’t underestimate the difficulty.
“We can reassure Mrs. Merkel that we want to have a deep and special partnership so that we can continue to maintain European-wide security to keep us all safe from the terrorists abroad and those that are trying to be nurtured in our country.”
Merkel’s ‘beer tent speech’
Brexit has irked many European leaders, including Merkel. But it was US President Donald Trump’s refusal to confirm US support for the Paris climate change agreement or NATO’s Article 5 during summits in Europe last week that likely caused the Chancellor the most consternation.
“The times when we could completely rely on others are, to an extent, over,” Merkel told supporters Sunday at a campaign event in Munich that has since been dubbed as the “beer tent speech.”
“I experienced that in the last a few days, and therefore I can only say that we Europeans must really take our fate into our own hands, of course in friendship with the United States and in friendship with Great Britain and as good neighbors wherever it is possible, also with Russia and also with all the other countries.
“But we need to know that we have to fight for our own future and destiny as Europeans,” she added. Merkel is expected to win a fourth term as Chancellor when Germany heads to the polls in September.
Steffen Seibert, Merkel’s spokesman, addressed the comments at a Monday news conference in Berlin.
“The chancellor’s words stand on their own,” Seibert said. “They were clear and comprehensible.”
But Seibert also took the opportunity to stress that Merkel remained “a deeply convinced trans-Atlanticist.”
“Those who have accompanied Chancellor Merkel journalistically for a long time know how important the German-American relations are,” Seibert said.
“They are a pillar for our foreign and security policy and Germany will continue to work on strengthening those relationships. “
Trump returned to the White House late Saturday from a nine-day foreign tour that he described as a “great success for America”. But European leaders were infuriated by his refusal to explicitly endorse Article 5 of the NATO charter, which states that an attack on one member of the military alliance is viewed as an attack on all and requires a collective defensive response.
Trump also lectured his counterparts Thursday on their failure to meet NATO spending guidelines. For a man who once called NATO “obsolete,” his failure to reassure allies during the NATO summit in Brussels went down badly across Europe.
Trump’s firm refusal to commit to the Paris climate deal at the G7 summit in Italy on Saturday — along with his description of Germany as “very bad on trade” — may also have contributed to Merkel switching the rhetoric up a notch.
But Almut Möller, Head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Berlin office and Senior Policy Fellow, believes Merkel’s latest remarks should be taken in a more modest light.
“It’s not breaking away from anything she has said in the past,” Möller said. “She has been relatively consistent on this.”
“It’s not a choice against the US, she’s still engaging as a powerful European leader and she is someone whose voice who will be heard around the table. Merkel took the decision to rejuvenate Europe post-Brexit and post-Trump. She’s not looking to push Britain or the US away — she is looking to strengthen Europe.”