EU/Juncker: After Trump’s Iran move, it’s now time for ‘Europe to shine’

Istanbul, May 11 (DHA) - In the face of recent decisionS taken by President Donald Trump, Europe needs to strengthen its position as a global player, the president of the European Commission said Friday.
"We need more Europe. After all we have seen in the past few days, the world needs to see a strong Europe," Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, said at a conference in Florence, Italy, on Friday.
The U.K., Germany and France, who are also part of the agreement, criticized Trump's decision, saying that the deal had been working. Such countries, alongside the European institutions, are now battling to keep the agreement in place, even without the U.S.
The leaders of Germany and France made a similar point during an event Thursday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe can no longer rely on the United States for protection.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe can no longer rely on the United States for protection.
"It is no longer such that the United States simply protects us, but Europe must take its destiny in its own hands, that's the task of the future" Merkel said.
French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, went a step further and argued that Europe cannot accept Trump's decision, but follow its own values.
"If we accept that other major powers, including allies ... put themselves in a situation to decide our diplomacy, security for us, and sometimes even make us run the worst risks, then we are not more sovereign and we cannot be more credible to public opinion," Macron said at an event in Germany, Thursday.
Trump decided earlier this week to pull the United States out of an international nuclear accord with Iran.