Lars Klingbeil, Germany's vice‑chancellor and finance minister, warned that transatlantic ties with the United States are "disintegrating" amid a "historic period of upheaval" under President Trump. Speaking after a trip to Washington, he cited a U.S. military operation involving Nicolás Maduro, threats toward Latin America, and alarming U.S. policy rhetoric as signs of change. Klingbeil urged Europe to defend rules‑based trade and open markets even if the U.S. withdraws its support.
German Vice‑Chancellor Says Transatlantic Ties Are 'Disintegrating' and Urges Europe to Defend Rules‑Based Trade
German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil warned that 'the transatlantic relationship as we have known it is currently disintegrating' (Tobias SCHWARZ)(Tobias SCHWARZ/AFP/AFP)
Germany's vice‑chancellor and finance minister, Lars Klingbeil, warned on Wednesday that ties between Europe and the United States are "disintegrating" and described the period as a "historic period of upheaval" under President Donald Trump's administration.
Speaking in Berlin after a visit to Washington with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Klingbeil said recent developments had convinced him that the post‑war transatlantic order is facing more profound strains than previously acknowledged.
"The transatlantic alliance is undergoing a much more profound upheaval than we may have been willing to admit until now," Klingbeil said. "The transatlantic relationship as we have known it is currently disintegrating."
Klingbeil, a senior figure in the centre‑left SPD that governs in coalition with the conservative bloc led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, offered several examples to illustrate his concerns. He described Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as a "brutal dictator" and criticized a U.S. military operation that, in his view, violated the principles of international law. Klingbeil emphasized that such actions should not be treated as isolated incidents and said Washington has issued threats toward other countries in Latin America.
He also cited moments of rhetoric and policy from the Trump administration — including reported remarks about Greenland and language in U.S. national security documents suggesting Europe faces "civilisational erasure" — as evidence that familiar assumptions about U.S. support for European institutions and open markets are under pressure.
Defending Rules‑Based Trade
Klingbeil warned that the longstanding U.S.‑German alignment around free trade and open markets has weakened. Yet he was clear that Europe should not abandon those principles: "That is no longer the case today. But that does not mean that we are abandoning free trade or open markets," he said. "We must not abandon rules‑based trade. We must defend this order, even without our American partners if necessary."
His remarks—frank and more forceful than recent comments from Chancellor Merz—signal growing debate in Berlin about how Europe should respond if transatlantic partnership continues to erode.
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