Merz says era of "unconditional" US-Europe ties is over

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the era of “unconditional” ties between the United States and Europe established after World War II is over, at least for the foreseeable future, amid shifting relations under US President Donald Trump.

“This era of unconditional transatlantic friendship is probably over for the foreseeable future,” Merz told members of his party in Berlin on September 17, Bloomberg reports.

“On the other side of the Atlantic, we are seeing a change in political attitudes, a change in the assessment of the transatlantic alliance, which we might not have thought possible,” he added.

Merz said Washington’s political views and its approach to the transatlantic alliance were changing.

His remarks came on the same day that he held a telephone conversation with Trump.

By Sabina Mammadli