The inauguration of the new President of the United States, Joe Biden, has also brought relief to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. Although not always the same opinion will be had, with the arrival of Biden to the power “there will be a wide base of common convictions” and “much more space for political coincidences” said the head of the German government in a massive press conference in Berlin. Proof of this, said Merkel, are the multiple decrees signed shortly after being sworn in as the highest US president. The Federal Chancellor stressed that in the future it will once again be possible to cooperate and collaborate with the United States in the World Health Organization and in the Paris Climate Agreement.
Without referring to or citing in a single moment the already former president of the United States Donald Trump, the conservative German policy commented that even in immigration policy there are coinciding opinions between his government and the Biden administration that has just assumed its responsibilities. Angela Merkel stressed that Germany and Europe must assume greater responsibilities at the international level, both in the diplomatic and military fields. “The good news is that in Germany we are ready and so is the European Union,” he said. With the arrival of Biden to power “we will not be able to count only on political coincidences,” said the head of the German government, who warned that there will be debates and discussions “to see how to do things well for the benefit of our two countries.”
In her fourth appearance before the media at the international press center in Berlin since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Chancellor qualified her threat to close the German borders with neighboring countries to stop the spread of the most dangerous mutations of the Sars- Cov-2. ‘Border controls are the ultimate ratio. We will do our best to avoid them, but we cannot exclude them, “said Merkel, who said she is in close contact with executives in the states bordering Germany. He stressed, however, that “if a state with twice the incidence of the virus than Germany keeps all its shops open, then we will have a problem”, after referring to the severe restrictions that apply in this country, where stores that do not sell articles of Staples are closed from before Christmas and will not open before February 14.
“We are in a difficult phase of the pandemic. We have a distorted image, since, although the new infections and the number of patients in intensive care are remitting, the death toll remains terribly high, “said Angela Merkel, who defended the severe measures taken in this country, such as the closure since on November 2 of all bars, restaurants, hotels and cultural and sports centers. “If we had waited to adopt them, it would have been too late,” said the chancellor, for whom the number of deaths “is not just figures, they are people who have died alone and there are people who mourn those dead.” He also warned that Europe faces a serious danger if the latest mutations of the virus spread across the continent. “Current knowledge suggests that the mutated virus is much more contagious,” said the conservative leader, who explained that this mutation has already been registered in Germany, although “it is not yet dominant” and for that reason we must do everything possible to prevent its expansion.
In that sense, and after underlining that she is permanently advised by a large scientific team, she referred to the high risk that Germany would suffer a third wave much stronger than the previous two. “But we can still prevent it, we still have some time,” said Merkel, for whom the current restrictions are intended to speed up the remission of infections. He added that the important thing is that Europe now act in a synchronized and united way, also when it comes to deepening the sequencing of the mutation to have concrete figures on its expansion. «The mutated virus is there and it is not going away. We must slow down its spread until we reach a better season of the year and at the same time increase vaccinations, “said the head of the German government with her sights set on the EU summit on the coronavirus this Thursday.
.
