German Foreign Minister rejects Europe’s “separation” from America: We cannot protect ourselves
German Foreign Minister rejects Europe’s “separation” from America: We cannot protect ourselves
2026-02-20 00:55
Shafaq News – Berlin
German Foreign Minister Johannes Wadephul announced on Friday his rejection of the idea of the European Union becoming completely “separate and independent” from the United States, warning that Europe does not have the capacity to defend itself.
In remarks to German television channel ZDF, Fadevol said that Europe must make greater efforts to become “more independent and sovereign, but not truly independent from America. That would be a breakaway, and nobody wants that, and it is also unnecessary.”
He added: “Let’s have a discussion where we can say frankly what we can and should do more in Europe, and on the other hand also what the United States represents for us. It’s a reliable alliance.”
He pointed out that the United States is fully integrated into NATO, “and without the United States we would not have sufficient defense capabilities for Europe, neither nuclear nor conventional nor in terms of intelligence information and its work. This must be said quite frankly.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently called at the Munich International Security Conference for a relaunch of transatlantic relations with the United States through a strong and largely independent European pillar.
Fadeful said the United States, together with Europe, wants to make the defense alliance strong in the face of future challenges, adding that this was also the outstretched hand of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the Munich Security Conference, “which, in my view, we should grasp.”
He noted that the United States is prepared to do so jointly with Europe, explaining in return that “this assumes that we are able to act, and for this we also have to invest money and move forward with some other measures.”
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