Merkel on Trump’s travel ban: Europe must define its role

Europe must clearly define its role in the world in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions, says German Chancellor Angela Merkel before an EU leaders’ summit in the Maltese capital.

“Europe holds its fate in its own hands,” Merkel says.

With the summit in Valletta focusing on finding a solution to the flow of migrants through the Mediterranean, Merkel calls for providing stronger support to the UN-backed unity government in Libya, including the country’s coast guard.

“The situation of migrants is dramatic in Libya,” she says.

In a related development,  Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern said at the sidelines of an EU summit in Malta that Trump’s travel ban and halt to refugee admissions were worrying.

Kern noted that the U.S. has a share of the responsibility for the flow of migrants.

“It is undoubtable that America has a shared responsibility for the flow of migrants through the way military intervention was carried out,’’ Kern said without specifying any country where such actions were taken.

“It is unacceptable for the international community if America wants to avoid all responsibility and we must make this clear to our American friends,’’ Kern said without specifying any country where such actions were taken.(dpa/NAN)