The German trade surplus with the United States is heading towards a record level just before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump arrives at the White House, an analysis of statistics office data showed.

Washington and Berlin pledged more aid for Ukraine as allies of the embattled nation gathered with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky at the US military's Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday to discuss aid.

As Angela Merkel, the longtime former chancellor of Germany, said in November 2024, the looming second Trump presidency “is a challenge to the world, especially for multilateralism.”

One month later, Scholz lost a confidence vote, ending the government he has led since 2021. Germany will have federal elections on Feb. 23, 2025. Germany is considered one of the United States’ closest allies in Western Europe, partnering on everything from economic trade to military defense.

The United States and its allies must end their penchant for appeasing enemies such as Iran, Russia, and China.

France and Germany on Wednesday warned Donald Trump against threatening "sovereign borders" after the US president-elect refused to rule out military action to take Greenland, an autonomous territory of European Union member Denmark.

Germany's support is in line with its commitment to "reliably and actively support Ukraine." "We will also provide nearly 50 missiles for IRIS-T systems," he said, noting that the supply of weapons to Ukraine is best kept under the leadership of the United States,

In the chaos of the postmodern 21st century, Europe and the U.S. nevertheless are still likely to share the same enemies and friends. Both resent the asymmetrical Chinese approach to global commerce, based on a mercantilism that would never allow Europe and the United States to treat China as it does both.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the latest in a series of meetings with Kyiv's Western allies in Germany had resulted in pledges of an additional $2 billion in military assistance to help it fight the war against Russia.

WASHINGTON - US Vice-President Kamala Harris will travel to Europe, the Middle East and Asia from Jan 13 through Jan 17, the White House said on Jan 7. The trip, which will likely be Ms Harris’ last as vice-president before leaving office on Jan 20, will have stops in Singapore, Bahrain, and Germany, according to the White House.

The EU's two leading members were reacting to the US president-elect's plans to acquire Denmark's autonomous territory.