LOST LOVE BETWEEN EUROPE AND AMERICA? CAN US REGAIN ITS GLOBAL LEADERSHIP POSITION?
F
or years, the United States and EU have been maintaining a great relationship. They cooperate on many things, including military defense, trade, and other shared values. However, this fantastic diplomatic relationship that has been maintained for years seems to suffer a crash in the hand of the current US President— Donald Trump.
WHAT STRAINED THE US - EU RELATIONSHIP
Several occurrences emerged under the Trump administration, tearing apart the long term EU – US relationship. In January 2017, President Trump accused the EU of being “a vehicle for Germany.” He condemned the Chancellor of Germany — Angela Merkel’s decision to bring in a million refugees into their country. Trump refers to these refugees as “illegals” During the tussle between Brexit and the European Union, the United States president supported Brexit’s decision to break away from the EU. Following this occurrence, the relationship further strained when the then President of the European Commission — Jean-Claude Juncker, jokingly made a statement indicating his support for the independence of the city of Austin and the US state of Ohio. To further establish the strained relationship, Angela Merkel made a statement following a NATO Summit saying Europe has lost
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THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2020
