Europe won’t submit to brutal world: Carney

Yerevan: Europe will not submit to a more “brutal world”, and can instead be the base from which a new international order can be rebuilt, Canada’s PM Mark Carney has said. Carney was speaking as the first non-European leader to attend a meeting of the European Political Commu­ni­ty, which opened in Yerevan, Armenia, on Monday.

“We don’t think we’re destined to submit to a more transactional, insular and brutal world, and gatherings such as these point to a better way forward,” he said.

In a pointed suggestion that the era of American leadership was coming to an end, and explaining the symbolism of Canada’s attendance at a European political gathering, he said: “The international order will be rebuilt, but it will be rebuilt out of Europe. We are demonstrating not just the strength of our values in defending a rules-based international order, but also the value of our strength,” he added. “The world is undergoing a rupture across several dimensions — integration is being used as a weapon by some and the rules are not constraining the hegemons,” Carney said.

About the US decision to cut troops in Germany, Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Store said, “I wouldn't exaggerate that as we are expecting Europe is taking more charge of its own security. “I do not see those figures as dramatic, but they should be handled in a harmonious way inside the framework of Nato.” British PM Keir Starmer said, “There needs to be a stronger European element in Nato, I have no doubt, about that.” 

He said there is “more tension” in some of their international alliances than there should be, and it is important we therefore face up to this.”

EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas said, “There has been talk about withdrawal of US troops for a long time from Europe. The timing of anno­u­ncement comes as a surprise.” “It shows we have to really strengthen the European pillar in Nato,” she said.

If Trump is trying to punish  German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the US was humiliated by Iran in talks to end the war, Kallas said: “I don’t see into the head of President Trump, so he has to explain it himself.” 

Merz did not attend the European Political Commu­nity summit of around 30 European leaders in Armenia. 

Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte played down the move, saying “there has been at this point disappointment on the US side” about Euro­pean support for the Iran war.

French President Emma­nuel Macron said, “If the US is ready to reopen Hormuz, that’s great. That’s what we’ve been asking for since the beginning.” “We are not going to take part in any military operation in a framework that to me seems unclear.”

Without mentioning Tru­mp or the US, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen listed recent trade deals the bloc has sealed with Australia and India, and is working on with Mexi­co. “With like-minded friends, you have stable, reliable sup­p­ly chains and Europe has the big­gest network of free trade pacts,” von der Leyen, who is from Germany, said.

–Agencies