Merkel grumbles on ally, Saying EU should take fate in own hands
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E-mail Xinhua, May 29, 2017
BERLIN, May 28 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday cast doubts on EU's alignment with the United States and Britain, saying Europeans should determine their own destiny.
Merkel, addressing a election campaign at a beer tent in Germany's southern state of Bavaria, said following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and Brexit, Europeans "really have to take destiny into their own hands."
"The times when we could fully rely on others are to some extent over." Merkel said.
She said Germany and Europe would strive to have good ties with the United States, Britain as well as other countries, "even with Russia". But she emphasized that "We have to know that we must fight for our future on our own."
Although Merkel did not further elaborate the reason on her unexpected remarks, many German media speculated Merkel was referring her frustrating experience at the G7 meeting earlier this week in Italy's Sicily.
The German leader described the summit as "very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory".
Some of the agendas were especially tough for Merkel, among them was the rise of protectionism and the discussion about the Paris agreement on climate change.
Six of the seven nations agreed to stick with their commitment to implement 2015 deal to tackle global warming. However, Trump in the end refused to endorse it, saying he needed more time to decide. Enditem
