They [China, Russia and the U.S.] are forcing us, time and again, to find common positions. That is often difficult given our different interests. But we do get this done—think, for example, of our policy regarding the conflict in Ukraine,” Merkel added. “Our policies on Africa, too, now follow a common strategy, which a few years ago would have been unthinkable. So we keep putting one foot in front of the other. However, our political power is not yet commensurate with our economic strength.”

The comments hinted at the fact that at least some European leaders no longer view the United States as primarily an ally of the European Union. Merkel, for example, pointed to the U.S. dominance of technology as a challenge for Europe. U.S. companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon have long dominated global markets, and in some high-profile cases have gotten into long legal battles with the EU over antitrust and regulatory policy.

In March, the British government released a report recommending that the country establish a new regulator to monitor the activities of major tech giants. The European Union’s commissioner for competition has issued billions of dollars in fines for Google, and additional probes into Amazon and Google […]