G7 summit 'commotion' has brought EU closer together, says German economy minister

Events at the Group of Seven summit have brought the European Union closer together, Germany's economy minister said on Monday.

Having left the meeting in Canada early, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was backing out of the group's joint declaration, sinking what appeared to be a fragile consensus on the trade dispute between Washington and its top allies.

"The commotion at the G7 summit in Canada has brought the European Union closer together. It is important we show unity at all levels," Peter Altmaier said on arrival at a meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg.

Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Trump's revocation of support for a joint communique with other leaders at the G7 summit was "sobering and a little depressing," she said.

"It's hard, it's depressing this time, but that's not the end" of the Group of Seven, she said in a rare one-on-one interview with ARD public television.

"I don't want us to keep inflating our language," she added, saying the word "depressed" was "already a lot, coming from me", in an ironic reference to her usual unflappable appearance.

Trump departed early from the Quebec meeting Saturday to head to Singapore for his summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un.

Soon afterwards, Trump rejected in a series of angry tweets from Air Force One the text of a G7 consensus statement -- traditionally a paean to shared Western values and objectives under American leadership.

Asked about Trump's threat to target US tariffs against cars -- a vital industry for Germany which supports over 800,000 jobs -- "we will have to think again about what we'll do," Merkel said.

"Hopefully the European Union will again act as collectively as it has this time," the chancellor said.

The EU has already said it will announce countermeasures against Trump's metals tariffs on July 1.