Yesterday both the Canadian Foreign Minister @cafreeland and the German Foreign Minister @HeikoMaas gave speeches on how the world looks from where they sit as representatives of two of America’s closest allies. It ain’t pretty. 1/
Freeland was in DC to accept Foreign Policy Magazine’s Diplomat of the Year award, which she richly deserved. foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/14/201… 2/
Maas meanwhile spoke to a group of young Europeans in Berlin: auswaertiges-amt.de/en/newsroom/ne… 3/
Freeland started by raising “a challenge that affects us all: the weakening of the rules-based international order" as well as "the rise of “neo-Nazis, white supremacists, incels, nativists, [and] radical antiglobalists” who “seek to undermine our democracies from within.” 4/
Her comments directed at the United States were a mixture of gratitude for the past, bewilderment at the present, and defiance about the future: “The idea that we could pose a national security threat to you is more than absurd, it’s hurtful.” 5/
The tariffs “are a naked example of the United States putting its thumb on the scale in violation of the very rules it helped to write.” She pointed out that the EU+Mexico “share our astonishment and our resolve.” She added,“we will not escalate and we will not back down. 6/
Maas began by asking, “How can Europe hold its own in a world radicalized by nationalism, populism and chauvinism?” 7/
He then went on, the “world order that we once knew…that world order no longer exists” due to “Donald Trump’s egoistic policy of ‘America First,’ Russia’s attacks on international law and state sovereignty, and the expansion of the giant that is China.” 8/
Maas reminded his audience he said a few days ago Germany will respond to recent U.S. moves “with appropriate countermeasures.” He added, “Believe me, the fact that a German Foreign Minister has to say this is something that, to be honest, I wouldn’t have thought possible." 9/
Much of the speech was a charge to Europe to fill the “giant vacuum around the world” left by Trump’s policies. 10/
Europe needs to stay united, argued Maas. To exert influence, countries must stick together. “Surrendering sovereignty to the EU enables us to win back the political influence we have long since lost as nations.” 11/
Europe can no longer know if the U.S. will “fight for multilateralism and a rules-based world.” And to those who think they can just wait it out until Trump is no longer president, Maas argued that this is “bound to go beyond Trump’s presidency.” 12/
Europe must be able to do more on nat'l security. “That is why I support France’s proposal on a European Intervention Initiative – European Crisis Response Team would probably be a slightly more fitting name-which would be dovetailed with our Permanent Structured Cooperation."13/
“However,” he said, “we must not close our eyes to a further reality – if we take this path, Germany will have to fill gaps in the Bundeswehr’s capabilities. That will cost money, but investing in equipment is certainly not the same as rearmament.” 14/
Both speeches were strong in their characterization of the challenge America now poses to its allies. Both said their countries would stand up for their interests. But at the end of the day, their options are limited. 15/
Canada is our northern neighbor. And Europe is more fractured than united these days. They are still dependent on the US for their security and will be for some time. 16/
Their dismay and anger are clear. It clearly pained both Freeland and Maas to give those remarks. Perhaps even more painful is the recognition of how limited their options really are in a world in which the threat posed by Russia and China is growing. They still need the US. 17/
We still need them too, but that’s for another thread, another time. /fin/
