Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has congratulated US President Donald Trump on his inauguration.
“Congratulations. The USA is our closest ally and a good transatlantic relationship is always the goal of our policy” Scholz said on Monday. “As the EU with 27 members and more than 400 million people, we are a strong community” he added.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) said, “We will be a partner to the new US government, as a strong and united Europe.” She will “work together on the basis of our common values and taking into account our European interests” she continued.
Unlike Trump, she personally congratulated her future colleague Marco Rubio, saying, “I look forward to our cooperation. In these times of complex global challenges, a close transatlantic cooperation remains a cornerstone for peace, security, and stability.”
Economic Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) made a more general statement on bilateral politics: “Germany and the USA have long and deep relationships. Our economies are very closely intertwined. We are allies in NATO. Freedom and peace, security and justice are goals that Europe and the USA have shared for decades.”
Continuing the “close partnership” would be in the mutual interest, he said. A trade and economic conflict would harm both sides, instead. “We in Europe rely on our strength as the European Union. International climate protection remains of great importance to us” Habeck said.