German FM: Europe must step up at world bodies as US pulls out

Germany’s foreign minister says Europe should fill the gaps left by the withdrawal of the United States from international organizations and key regions of the world.

Minister Heiko Maas tells German diplomats in Berlin on Monday that Europe should increase its political and financial weight at the United Nations and the World Trade Organization — both of which have come under pressure from Washington since US President Donald Trump took office last year.

He also urged Europe to step up its activities in the Western Balkans, in the Mideast and in Africa, warning that “the cost of war, poverty and displacement in our neighborhood … is borne by us Europeans.”

Maas said while Europe should seek to “rebalance” its relationship with Washington, “the goal is never ‘Europe first.'”

— AP