U.S. Turns to Germany as Crucial Ally Within EU as U.K. Departs
While the strategic consequences of Britain’s impending exit from the European Union are still being sorted on both sides of the Atlantic, one impact is clear: Germany is suddenly a lot more important to the U.S.
Germany now becomes the logical first place for the U.S. to turn because Britain will no longer be at the table for EU decisions, even as Washington maintains a "special relationship" with London based on shared history, values and deep military and intelligence ties.
“The United States and Germany are going to have to become closer strategic partners, closer than we have" been, said Nicholas Burns, former U.S. undersecretary of state and now a professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. “Britain was our strongest institutional link in the EU, and that’s going to be gone.”
Europe’s strongest economy already was taking on a bigger role as a U.S. ally as Chancellor Angela Merkel gave crucial support on international issues such as sanctions against Russia and the Iran nuclear deal. President Barack Obama has forged a closer personal relationship with Merkel than any other European leader, and the two often confer by phone.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-06-27/u-s-turns-to-germany-as-crucial-ally-within-eu-as-u-k-departs