Donald Trump: Chancellor Merkel made a 'catastrophic mistake'.

(Baonghean.vn) - US President-elect Donald Trump has called German Chancellor Angela Merkel's stance on migration a "catastrophic mistake." He claims this policy will even lead to more countries leaving the European Union (EU) than the UK.

Trump argues that Merkel's open-door policy for migrants could lead to many member states leaving the EU. Photo: dpa.

President-elect Trump sharply criticized Chancellor Merkel's open-door policy on migrants in a joint interview published in Germany's Bild and the UK's The Times of London on January 15.

He declared: "I believe she made a catastrophic mistake by accepting all outlaws, that is, accepting everyone regardless of where they came from."

In 2015, around 900,000 migrants, many from Syria, arrived in Germany after Merkel opened the borders, declaring, "we can do this."

The billionaire businesswoman also said that Germany was “clearly deeply impressed” by the consequences of her policies following the terrorist attack in Berlin that killed 12 people last December.

Trump asserted that he "greatly respects" Merkel and would begin his term with confidence in a "great leader," but that confidence might not last long.

Brexit Agreement

Trump promised to propose a trade deal with Britain within weeks of taking office to help make Brexit a "great thing".

"We will work hard to get it done quickly and accurately. Good luck to both sides," Trump said.

“I’m going to meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May. She’s scheduled a meeting and we’ll meet after I get into the White House, I think we’ll get something done quickly together.”

On January 14th, May affirmed that she would lead the country toward a "hard Brexit".

Trump said that NATO members have not spent enough money to contribute to the alliance. Photo: dpa.

Other countries will leave.

Trump warned that other countries in the 28-member EU bloc would follow Britain's lead after Brexit due to immigration issues.

"I think this will be very difficult," he said, "People, countries want their own identity, and the United Kingdom wants its own identity."

"If migrants continue to pour into different parts of Europe… I think it will be very difficult to maintain the bloc because people are very angry about it."

He said that the massive influx of people in 2015 was "the straw that broke the camel's back," persuading British voters to support leaving the EU in the June 24 referendum.

"If they hadn't been forced to accept all the migrants, so many of them, along with all the problems that came with it, I think there wouldn't have been Brexit. This was the final straw."

He added that the EU had become "a means to serve Germany."

NATO is outdated.

Trump described the NATO alliance as an "obsolete" organization.

"I said a long time ago that NATO has many problems. The most prominent is that it is outdated, because it was created many years ago," he said.

He affirmed that NATO remains "very important to me," but some NATO allies have not spent enough money.

"We have to protect these countries. But many of these countries aren't paying the amount they're supposed to be paying, and I think that's unfair to the United States."

It is known that the US contributions to NATO account for approximately 70% of the alliance's spending.

According to Trump, BMW would also face higher import tariffs if it built a new factory in Mexico instead of the United States. Photo: dpa.

Tax BMW

He threatened the German carmaker BMW with a 35% tariff on cars intended to be produced at a new factory in Mexico and exported to the US market.

He told a German newspaper that BMW should build a new factory in the US, as this would be "much better" for the company.

Merkel has also recently criticized Trump's protectionist policies, and has said that there is no guarantee of cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking to an audience in Brussels, she said: “From the perspective of some of our traditional partners – and I am also thinking about transatlantic relations – there is no perpetual guarantee of close cooperation with European countries.”

Thu Giang

(According to dpa, AFP, Reuters)