Trump's Policies Labeled 'Short Sighted' By Germany
President Donald Trump’s indecision on the 2015 Paris climate change accord was followed by sharp criticism from German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Monday who called his policies “short-sighted” and ones which “weakened the West.”
This came after the president, while on his first official foreign trip, was in Italy for the G7 summit but refused to declare U.S. support for the Paris Climate deal. Days before that, he had also overseen the largest U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia worth $110 billion over the next decade, The Guardian reported.
Read: Trump's Europe Visit To Focus On NATO, Paris Climate Deal
Gabriel reportedly said the weakening of environmental protection coupled with the sale of more weapons in conflict zones risked European security.
“The short-sighted policies of the American government stand against the interests of the European Union,” he said. “The West has become smaller, at least it has become weaker. We Europeans must fight for more climate protection, fewer weapons and against religious [fanaticism], otherwise, the Middle East and Africa will be further destabilized.”
This happened on the same day German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a sustainable development conference in Berlin tackling climate change remained a German commitment, The Telegraph reported.
"With change comes insecurity, skepticism and, not infrequently, the glorification of the supposedly good old days," she said. "Particularly in view of the complexity of global contexts, a wish for simple answers spreads. But anyone who puts on national blinkers and has no view of the world around him will ultimately get lost," she added.
Just a day earlier, she said Europe couldn’t “completely” rely on the U.S. or other longstanding partners.
"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," Merkel said, according to CNN.
The comments came after President Trump heavily criticized NATO allies over their defense spending and said Germany was “very bad” on trade. 23 of the 28 NATO members, including Germany were told they were “still not paying what they should be paying” to keep funding it.
Trump’s refusal to reassure of U.S. commitment to the Paris climate change accord was also described by Merkel as "very dissatisfying." The president said he needed more time to make a final decision.
It was reported however, the president had already told a number of people privately he planned to leave the Paris agreement on climate change. This includes Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Scott Pruit, Axios reported.
The accord was signed in 2015 when 195 countries agreed to curb global temperature increase and keep it within 2 degrees Celsius by the year 2050. Former President Barack Obama had praised it at the time as a “tribute to American leadership.”
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