AERZEN, Germany (AP) – President Barack Obama, beginning a visit Sunday to Germany, hoped to build momentum for a U.S.-Europe trade deal that has become a tough sell, particularly in Germany.
Other issues were on the agenda for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, including efforts to counter the Islamic State group, improve cooperation on counterterrorism, and encourage countries to share law enforcement information. IS says it was responsible for attacks that killed 30 people in Brussels last month.
Obama also wants to give Merkel public praise for her “courageous” handling of the migrant issue. Her decision to allow the resettlement in Germany of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence in Syria and other areas of conflict in the Mideast caused an angry domestic backlash.
Merkel recently helped European countries negotiate a deal with Turkey to help stem the migrant flow, but she and the other leaders are now under pressure to revisit it.
The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a main factor behind what likely is Obama’s final stop in Germany before he leaves office in January. He planned to join Merkel at the Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial technology trade fair, to promote the agreement.