Former NATO envoy: ‘This seems to be the end of an era’

A former U.S. envoy to NATO says in a new interview that an era in U.S.-European relations appears to be over.

“This seems to be the end of an era, one in which the United States led and Europe followed,” Ivo H. Daalder told The New York Times. “Today, the United States is heading into a direction on key issues that seems diametrically opposite of where Europe is heading.” 

“The president’s failure to endorse Article 5 in a speech at NATO headquarters, his continued lambasting of Germany and other allies on trade, his apparent decision to walk away from the Paris climate agreement – all suggest that the United States is less interested in leading globally than has been the case for the lat 70 years.”

{mosads}President Trump on Saturday refused to participate in a pledge with his Group of 7 (G7) counterparts supporting the 195-nation Paris climate deal.

Trump last week also scolded NATO allies for not meeting their obligations during a ceremony at the alliance’s new headquarters in Brussels.

“NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations,” he said.

Trump also declined to explicitly endorse Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty, which states that an attack on any allied state is an attack on all.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said that her nation could no longer “completely depend” on the U.S. as a reliable partner.

“The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out,” she said at a campaign rally in Munich.

“I’ve experienced that in the last few days. [Europeans] must really take our destiny into our own hands.”