Arkansas Online

Germany’s Scholz emphasizes EU ties

BERLIN — Germany’s incoming chancellor pledged Tuesday that his new government will stand up for a strong European Union and nurture the trans-Atlantic alliance, but left open whether it will join in the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games.

Olaf Scholz, a center-left Social Democrat, is expected to succeed longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel today at the head of a new three-party coalition. He sent a message of continuity on foreign policy, and said he will continue a tradition of German chancellors making their first foreign trip to close European ally France. He didn’t specify a date.

Scholz served as vice chancellor and finance minister in Merkel’s government and already met with leaders, including President Joe Biden, when he accompanied the outgoing leader to the Group of 20 summit in October. His first EU summit will come only a week after he is sworn in; leaders of the 27-nation bloc are due to meet in Brussels on Dec. 16-17.

The new government wants to “continue the efforts Germany has made in recent years to create a strong, sovereign European Union,” Scholz told reporters in Berlin. “At the same time, we will underline the trans-Atlantic partnership and our cooperation in NATO.”

He said he is “very grateful” to Biden for emphasizing the concept of a “community of democracies.”

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2021-12-08T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-08T08:00:00.0000000Z

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