The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany believes that Europe is too dependent on the US. Heiko Maas came to this conclusion after the US refused to make concessions to Iran and unilaterally withdrew from the previously signed nuclear agreement. In addition, Donald Trump threatened sanctions for those who continued to deal with an authoritarian regime.
The US ignored Germany’s opinion that the withdrawal from the agreement was a mistake, and it became the reason for the Foreign Ministry's statement. "In this situation, it is of strategic significance that we say clearly to Washington: we want to work together, but we will not allow you to act over our heads to our detriment," Maas said. To solve the situation he called for strengthening of European autonomy through creation of independent payment channels. Guided by the fact that it is better to keep peaceful relations, Germany, among other things, promotes its own commercial interests. The current agreement "is better than the potentially explosive crisis that threatens the Middle East otherwise," Maas added.
However, even having the European Monetary Fund and an independent SWIFT payment system, Europe understands that it is impossible to compete with the US even with such an arsenal. According to Maas, Europe is trying to take the positions that are left by the United States. The Minister said, that it is not possible to close all the gaps, but together the European countries can mitigate the most serious consequences of thinking, which considers success in the amount of dollars saved.
So the parting of these two allies is unlikely, in this case it is just contentious issues between partners.
