Foreign Press Report #7

Asked why he did not publicly stand by Spain (and the UK) Chancellor Merz answered in German, (this is translated)

“I said very clearly in the personal conversation: First, Spain is a member of the European Union, and as such we conduct negotiations on a tariff agreement with the United States only together — or not at all.”

“There is no way to treat Spain particularly badly here. If we reach a result, then we all reach a joint result — and that includes Spain.”

“He based his criticism primarily on the NATO contribution. But that has nothing to do with our European efforts to reach a trade agreement.”

“I did this behind closed doors because I did not want to conduct or escalate the conflict publicly.”

Ines Pohl

Washington Bureau Chief

Deutsche Welle (DW)

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