"One of Trump's first invitations as president-elect was Brexit campaign leader [Nigel] Farage. There evidently already is a desire to split the European Union. For us Germans, this means the undoing of one of the world's largest markets… This is a policy of assaulting Europe, it is certainly not in Germany's interests," Schulz said in an address televised by the N24 broadcaster.
Trump, who assumed the US presidency just over a week ago, has had close contacts with acting UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Farage. The pro-Brexit campaigner became the first UK politician to meet Trump after the latter's election victory in November.
The meeting was played down by Downing Street, which stated that Farage was "irrelevant," while Farage said UK Prime Minister Theresa May should focus on the national interest and use his access to Trump to the country's advantage. In turn, Trump said Farage could make a good UK ambassador to the United States.
Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!