German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that European countries should "not
limit themselves to defending the European peace order
" or "
retreat into their shell
" but act "
with a broad view of the world
".
"
We Europeans (...) must not withdraw into our shell, must not limit ourselves to defending the European order of peace
", declared the minister, in Japan for a G7 summit where she mentioned the rising tensions around Taiwan.
Ms Baerbock, speaking at a press conference, urged Europeans to "
act sovereignly and autonomously with a broad view of the world
".
French President Emmanuel Macron recently caused controversy, after returning from a visit to China, by declaring that Europe should not be caught up in "
crises that are not (his)
".
He also felt that Europe should not automatically align itself with the United States or Beijing in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.
"Nobody in the world wants a new confrontation between blocs"
The G7 (Germany, Canada, United States, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom), whose foreign ministers are meeting in Japan to discuss Ukraine and China as a priority, does not want to place "
countries face the choice + with us or against us +
”, assured Ms. Baerbock.
"
Nobody in the world wants a new confrontation between blocs
," she added, calling for "
cooperation based on fair rules
", especially with China.
Before her trip to Japan, the German minister had gone to Beijing from where she had been very firm on the question of Taiwan, describing the possibility of a military escalation in the strait as "a disaster scenario for
the whole world
”.
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