Germany's foreign minister has called for the European Union to become a more self-confident global actor, prepared to take counter-measures when the United States crosses "red lines" and able to respond to Russian threats and Chinese growth.
In a Berlin speech, Heiko Maas gave the clearest sign yet that Germany no longer sees its 70-year-old alliance with the United States as unconditional, and threw his weight behind French proposals to make the EU shipshape for a more uncertain world.
"We need a balanced partnership with the U.S.," he told youth activists in a converted railway station, "where we as Europeans act as a conscious counterweight when the U.S. oversteps red lines."