Visiting Scholz stresses value of stronger Europe

BRUSSELS－New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country is ready to work closely with the European Union and other member states to make the region "strong and sovereign", in comments that came during a whirlwind tour of European capitals over recent days.

Scholz, who was sworn in last week as Angela Merkel's successor, followed in his predecessor's footsteps in making France the first stop during his first trip abroad as chancellor. Capping a busy weekend, Scholz visited Warsaw for talks that included the migrant crisis and the fate of a Russian gas pipeline to Germany.

From a broader perspective, trans-Atlantic cooperation was the theme of a phone call Scholz had with US President Joe Biden on Friday, when issues involving Ukraine were also discussed.

In Paris, Scholz, meeting French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, pledged to work with France on the major challenges confronting the EU. The leaders discussed the future of the EU with regard to immigration, new sources of energy, border protection and ties with third countries.

Macron told a news conference later that he had seen "a convergence of views, a desire to have our countries work together, and a firm and determined belief in Europe, which I knew already, which we will need in the months and years ahead".

The talks focused on "making Europe strong and sovereign" in terms of the economy, security, and foreign policy, Scholz said. "What is important there is that we work together," he said.

Later in Brussels, the chancellor met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

At a news conference with von der Leyen, Scholz emphasized the importance of strengthening the EU's security and defense policy. He also spoke about his vision of a "strong, sovereign European Union" that will be able to respond to foreign policy challenges in a coordinated way. "Any threat against any EU country will not be tolerated," he said.

Strategic sovereignty

At a news briefing with Michel, Scholz stressed that the EU should live peacefully with other countries when it seeks strategic sovereignty in the multipolar world of today.

The world will not be bipolar as some people speculate, but a multipolar one with "many powers", including the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India as well as many other rising economies, he said.

In the call with Biden, the US president, who congratulated Scholz on his appointment, "reaffirmed his support for robust US-German relations and desire to further strengthen trans-Atlantic cooperation", the White House said. It said the two leaders discussed issues including "continued efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, counter the threat of climate change" and the Ukraine issue.

In Warsaw, in addition to the migrant crisis on the Belarusian border, Poland's row with the EU over judicial independence was on the agenda, along with the future of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline built to carry gas from Russia into Europe.

Before the talks, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reiterated his opposition to the startup of the pipeline that bypasses Ukraine. The government in Warsaw is also involved in an intensifying dispute with the European Commission which is withholding pandemic recovery funds from Poland saying the government's policies erode judicial independence there.

Agencies - Xinhua