Germany’s health minister has said the outgoing left-wing government will urge the US to rejoin the World Health Organisation (WHO) after US President Donald Trump announced the country’s exit.
Karl Lauterbach, a senior member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, vowed he and his country would work to force a US U-turn on the issue for the sake of international health.
“The new US President’s announcement to withdraw from the World Health Organisation is a serious blow to the international fight against global health crises,” Lauterbach said.
“We will try to persuade Donald Trump to reconsider this decision.”
The European Union should have its own regulator-friendly equivalents to X, TikTok and Instagram, according to the candidate for chancellor of Germany’s Greens, Robert Habeck. https://t.co/IPNHqY5zbU
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 15, 2025
Reactions to Trump’s return to the White House has been muted in European capitals, though a number of executive orders signed by the incoming president on his first day back in office have provoked anger.
Robert Habeck, who is the Greens’ candidate for chancellor in the forthcoming snap German federal elections in February, lashed out over Trump’s decision to once again pull the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump had previously had the United States exit the agreement in 2017, only for that decision to be undone by former president Joe Biden.
“What is happening in the USA is the beginning of a historic failure,” Habeck said, describing the move as “fatal” to global climate protection.
“If we do not act, we will ultimately have failed historically,” he added.
Despite Trump’s indication that the US will pull back on fighting climate change, Habeck insisted that both Germany and Europe should double-down on his party’s “green” agenda.
He added that the European Union should focus on developing its own green technologies, as well as avoid becoming reliant on US energy exports.
“In a world in which we have to expect energy supply chains to be exploited for power politics, energy dependency is always a problem,” he said.
Habeck also warned that Trump probably wanted to target Europe with his US tariffs scheme but stated that the EU should avoid agreeing such measures, as they went against the bloc’s foundations.
He did add, though: “Europe is prepared, should the US impose tariffs.
“We shouldn’t believe that what is happening there can be a model for us.”
French business banker and left-wing media mogul Matthieu Pigasse claims the world has entered a “civilisational war” as US President-elect Donald Trump is set to assume office. https://t.co/QRXx9abwBU
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 20, 2025
