GERMANY, FRANCE QUIT WHO REFORM TALKS DUE TO US MEDDLING

France and Germany have quit talks on reforming the World Health Organization (WHO) in frustration at blatant attempts by the United States to lead the negotiations, despite its decision to leave the WHO, three officials told Reuters before the dawn on August 8, 2020.

The move is a setback for President Donald Trump as Washington, which holds the rotating chair of the G7, had hoped to issue a common roadmap for a sweeping overhaul of the WHO in September, two months before the US presidential election, Elvira Pollina, Andreas Rinke, Francesco Guarascio reported. 

The US gave the WHO a year’s notice in July that it is leaving the UN agency - which was created to improve health globally - after Trump accused it of being too close to China and having mishandled the coronavirus pandemic. 

The WHO has dismissed his accusations. European governments have also criticized the WHO but do not go as far as the US in their criticism, and the decision by Paris and Berlin to leave the talks follows tensions over what they say are Washington’s attempts to dominate the negotiations. “Nobody wants to be dragged into a reform process and getting an outline for it from a country which itself just left the WHO,” a senior European official involved in the talks said.

The German and French health ministries confirmed to Reuters that the two countries were opposed to the US leading the talks after announcing their intention to leave the organization. A spokesman for the Italian health ministry said that work on the reform document was still underway, adding that Italy’s position was in line with Paris and Berlin.