German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. Photo: Reuters / Sergei Karpukhin.

Europe needs to find a “new balance” to its relationship with the United States in the light of the challenges posed by the administration of President Donald Trump, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday.

Among the challenges posed by the Trump administration, he named its tearing up of the Paris climate deal, its abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal, threats of sanctions against European partners as well as protectionism.

“We Europeans have to act as a conscious counterweight when the US crosses red lines,” he said. “Where the US government aggressively throws into question our values and interests, we have to react more robustly.”