European Union nations reacted with surprise and defiance on Monday to comments made by President-elect Donald Trump, who said in an interview that NATO was “obsolete” and hinted that more member states would leave the 28-nation EU.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking ahead of an EU foreign ministers meeting, said Trump’s view on NATO and criticism that allied members weren’t paying their fair share has “caused astonishment.”
His French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault added that the best response to such an interview was simple Europeans uniting together.
Even though Trump had make similar comments during his tempestuous election campaign, a repeat of the same points still hit Europe hard and still came as a bit of a surprise, since his choice for defense secretary, General James Mattis, has stressed his support for the alliance in his US congressional confirmation hearings last week.
Steinmeier said Trump’s views in an interview with German daily Bild and The Times of london “are contradictory to statement of” Mattis.
Beyond NATO, Trump indicated he was indifferent to whether the EU stays together or not, a sharp break from the Obama administration, which encouraged Great Britain to remain in the EU last year before the UK voted in June to leave.