, Columnist
Germany Won’t Enlist in Macron’s European Army
Merkel and her foreign minister call the French president’s criticisms of NATO a “sweeping attack.”
He wants to lead. Her, no so much.
Photographer: Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
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Now that German leaders have responded to French President Emmanuel Macron’s provocative remarks concerning the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an unusually wide public rift has emerged between France and Germany. At its root, it’s about France’s leadership ambitions, to which Germany is opposed without itself wanting to lead.
“We do want a strong and sovereign Europe,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas wrote in an op-ed article in the weekly Der Spiegel on Sunday. “But we need it as part of a strong NATO, and not as a substitute.”