Foreign policy of the Angela Merkel government

This article is part of a series about Angela Merkel
MdB for Vorpommern-Rügen – Vorpommern-Greifswald I Christian Democratic Union of Germany Controversies Merkel-Raute Revolution of 1989 Early life Democratic Awakening 1990 East German election German reunification Kohl Administration Minister for Women and Youth Minister for the Environment Leader of the Christian Democratic Union Tenure CDU donations scandal 2002 election Leader of the Opposition Chancellor of Germany Incumbent First Ministry and Term 2005 election First Merkel Cabinet EU Council presidency 33rd G8 summit Treaty of Lisbon Berlin Declaration Financial crisis Stimulus plan 2009 presidential election Second Ministry and Term 2009 election Second Merkel cabinet 2010 presidential election Health care reform Energiewende European debt crisis Single Supervisory Mechanism Bundeswehr reform 2012 presidential election NSA surveillance Third Ministry and Term 2013 election Third Merkel cabinet Crimean conflict Normandy format 41st G7 summit European migrant crisis Willkommenskultur "Leader of the Free World" 2017 presidential election 2017 G20 Hamburg summit 2017 election Personal life Family Foreign policy Honours and awards Comparisons

The foreign policy of the Angela Merkel government has been the foreign policy of Germany since Merkel took office as Chancellor of Germany in November 2005. During Merkel's chancellorship, Merkel has personally been highly active in the field of the foreign policy. She named Frank-Walter Steinmeier to serve as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009; the office was subsequently held by Guido Westerwelle from 2009 to 2013, and again by Steinmeier from 2013.

Merkel has emphasized international cooperation, both in the context of the European Union and NATO. Merkel played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. Merkel played a crucial role in managing the financial crisis at the European and international level.

Merkel has been widely described as the de facto leader of the European Union throughout her tenure as Chancellor. Merkel has twice been named the world's second most powerful person by Forbes magazine, the highest ranking ever achieved by a woman.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} In December 2015, Merkel was named as Time magazine's Person of the Year, with the magazine's cover declaring her to be the "Chancellor of the Free World."^[7] On 26 March 2014, Merkel became the longest-serving incumbent head of government in the European Union and she is currently the senior G7 leader. In May 2016, Merkel was named the most powerful woman in the world for a record tenth time by Forbes.^[8] In 2016 Merkel was described by The New York Times as "the Liberal West's Last Defender"^[9] and by Timothy Garton Ash as "the leader of the free world."^[10] Following the announcement that Merkel will run for a fourth term as Chancellor, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Norbert Röttgen has said that Merkel desires to hold "the liberal order, in the trans-Atlantic area, together" and that "the Chancellor is a cornerstone of [the] political concept of the West as acting as a global player."^[11]

United States

One of Merkel's priorities was strengthening transatlantic economic relations. She signed the agreement for the Transatlantic Economic Council on 30 April 2007 at the White House. The Council, co-chaired by an EU and a US official, aims at removing barriers to trade in a further integrated transatlantic free-trade area.^[12]

U.S. President Barack Obama described her at the end of 2016 as his "closest international partner" throughout his tenure as President.^[13] Obama also said he would vote for Merkel if he could.^[14] Obama's farewell visit to Berlin in November 2016 was widely interpreted as the passing of the torch of global liberal leadership to Merkel as Merkel was seen by many as the new standard bearer of liberal democracy since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President.^[15][16]

Upon the election of Donald Trump Merkel said that "Germany and America are tied by values of democracy, freedom and respect for the law and human dignity, independent of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views. I offer the next president of the United States, Donald Trump, close cooperation on the basis of these values."^[17] The comment was interpreted as reintegrative shaming.^[18] President Obama's final phone call as U.S. President was to Merkel, during which he thanked her for her "strong, courageous, and steady leadership" and expressed "appreciation for their personal friendship."^[19]

Following the G7 Summit in Italy and the NATO Summit in Brussels, Merkel stated on May 28, 2017 that the US was no longer the reliable partner Europe and Germany had depended on in the past.^[20] At an electoral rally in Munich, she said that "We have to know that we must fight for our future on our own, for our destiny as Europeans",^[21] which has been interpreted as an unprecedented shift in the German-American transatlantic relationship.^[22][20]

Middle East

Merkel's government has approved multi-billion euro arms export deals with dictatorial regimes in the Middle East, including Qatar,^[23] Saudi Arabia.^[24] the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.^[25] In 2016, German opposition parties criticized Germany's defense plan with Saudi Arabia, which has been waging war in Yemen and has been condemned for massive human rights violations.^[26][27]

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