Scholz, Macron Forge Alliance As Europe Prepares To Tackle Trump
...Germany Pledges Commitment To Paris Agreement, WHO Despite U.S. Withdrawal
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, yesterday, said Europe “will not duck and hide” in response to Donald Trump’s return as President of the United States of America (U.S.A.).
Speaking in Paris ahead of a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Scholz said Europe will be “a constructive and self-confident partner” for the United States of America.
“We are strong and we stand together,” said Scholz, who was in the French capital to mark the 62nd anniversary of the Élysée Treaty. The landmark agreement cemented the post-war reconciliation between France and Germany.
A German News Service report (delivered by dpa) indicates that Macron and Scholz agree that “Europe must be strong and resilient in a world that is-to put it mildly-on the move,” the German chancellor said, describing Trump’s second term as a ‘challenge.’
His comments were echoed by Macron, who said the two countries want to “accelerate” the European agenda in the face of threats of US tariffs on European exports.
The president said it is “up to us Europeans, and thus to our two countries, to play our full role in consolidating a united, strong and sovereign Europe,” adding: “Today more than ever, Europeans’ priority must be our Europe and, above all, our competitiveness, our prosperity and our security.”
The two countries are cooperating in a number of fields, including artificial intelligence, Macron said. “We have a Franco-German plan for artificial intelligence and want to jointly develop more research projects, start-ups and the growth of our companies.”
Macron hinted at tensions in the Franco-German relationship in recent years, but signaled that ties remain strong. “In the face of challenges and the worries that sometimes arise, the pair we form is solid.”
Meanwhile, Germany has maintained that it remains ‘committed’ to the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO) despite the planned US withdrawal under President Trump, a government spokeswoman said in Berlin on Wednesday.
“We rely on international organizations and a rules-based international order. We remain committed to these agreements,” the spokeswoman said.
The German government sees climate change as a massive global challenge, which requires global solutions, she said: “In our view, the Paris climate agreement is indispensable and we will continue to focus on it.”
The spokeswoman also described the WHO as a vital tool against threats to public health, assuring that Berlin will remain in dialogue with the United States in order to better understand what the motives are, she said.
Shortly after taking office on Monday, Trump issued a series of executive orders aimed at abandoning global commitments. He had previously attempted to pull the U.S. out of the WHO in 2020 during his first term in office, but the move was cancelled by his successor, Joe Biden in 2021 before it took effect.
In an executive order, Trump had on Monday, January 20, 2025, stated that the organisation had reacted poorly to the COVID-19 pandemic and was demanding unfair contributions from the United States.
German Health Minister, Karl Lauterbach, described the US withdrawal as “a serious blow to the international fight against global health crises.” The withdrawal processes from the WHO and the Paris Agreement both take one year.
