Germany’s Merz marks shift by betting on an EU less dependent on US
Friedrich Merz, who led the Christian Democratic Union to victory at the polls, referred to a strong Europe independent of the United States as his “absolute priority”. Many in Brussels now expect a more stable government in Berlin will mean a stronger German leadership
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/02/24/germanys-merz-marks-shift-by-betting-on-an-eu-less-dependent-on-us
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Friedrich Merz, who led the Christian Democratic Union to victory at the polls, referred to a strong Europe independent of the United States as his “absolute priority”. Many in Brussels now expect a more stable government in Berlin will mean a stronger German leadership
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/02/24/germanys-merz-marks-shift-by-betting-on-an-eu-less-dependent-on-us
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00The night of the German elections already marked a major change in the rhetoric of the
00:09German government that could influence the EU.
00:16Friedrich Merz has referred to a strong Europe, independent from the US, as his absolute priority.
00:22For a die-hard Atlanticist like Merz, who has spent much of his professional life as
00:45a lawyer working with American firms, these words have meaning and can lead to decisions
00:50for the EU.
00:51First of all, by increasing the spending on defence.
00:55The recent actions, especially from US President Trump on Ukraine, have prompted Merz to completely
01:02revisit his approach on this.
01:05So hearing a statement from a German to be, or very likely Chancellor, that Europe should
01:13be more independent from the United States when it comes to its security is definitely
01:17a new development, but I think that it is going to be very well received in many other
01:23European countries, especially in France.
01:26And it also aligns very well with the agenda of the new EU Commission on Security and Defence.
01:33As the strongest economy in the continent, Germany is a very influential member state
01:37of the European Union and has significant weight when it comes to voting.
01:42Also, the synergy with France is expected to level up as Paris has been asking to buy
01:47more European weapons.
01:49However, when it comes to Ukraine, Merz will have to face the opposition of the AFD, which
01:55has become the second largest party in the German parliament.
01:59The far-right party opposes supporting Ukraine.
02:02There is consensus on the necessity that Ukraine is a priority and also that funding for Ukraine
02:08has to continue.
02:10The AFD can, on the very short term, most likely not influence the support because there
02:17is a broad majority among parliamentarians.
02:20However, the AFD might be able to, of course, influence public discourse in Germany as the
02:26biggest opposition party.
02:28And then we have to see whether there is also an impact, for example, on public support.
02:34An extraordinary European summit is announced for the 6th of March.
02:38It is not sure that Friedrich Merz will be the one to represent Germany as the negotiations
02:43to form a new coalition government will be going on.
02:46But Europe expects that a more stable German government, formed sooner than later, could
02:51provide stronger leadership.