Chancellor Merz described the new US security strategy as not surprising in its substance and rejected parts of it. Nevertheless, he remains hopeful for the continuation of the partnership with the US.
Chancellor Merz is not surprised by the new US security strategy. In his view, it roughly corresponds to what US Vice President JD Vance said at the Munich Security Conference in February.
At the time, Vance accused Germany and other European allies of curtailing freedom of expression and excluding parties like the AfD. Merz said that this speech triggered something in him, leading to Germany increasing its defense spending.
Merz considers parts of the strategy problematic:"Some of it is understandable, some of it is reasonable, some of it is unacceptable to us from a European perspective."
Merz rejects criticism of democratic deficit
The German Chancellor sees no need for the Americans to save democracy in Europe. If it truly needed saving,"we could manage that on our own." The new US security strategy refers to alleged democratic deficits in Europe. The right-wing nationalist US government also intends to cooperate with nationalist parties in Europe.
His message to American partners was: America First is fine, but America alone, a sole focus on America, cannot be in the interest of the USA either."You also need partners in the world, and one of those partners can be Europe, and if you can't do anything with Europe, then at least make Germany your partner," said Merz.
The national security strategy is a key document in which the US sets out its foreign and security policy guidelines. In the updated document, the US laments, among other things, a loss of democracy and freedom of expression in Europe. Regarding migration, it states that the alleged economic decline of Europe is overshadowed by the threat of"civilizational annihilation."
Trump is supposed to come to Germany
Merz stated that the invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit Germany still stands. Trump had told him he wanted to come to Germany next year, but no date has yet been set. Trump's grandfather, Friedrich, grew up in the small Rhineland-Palatinate town of Kallstadt before emigrating to the USA in 1885.
During a meeting in the Oval Office in June, the German Chancellor presented the US President with a gold-framed copy of a historic birth certificate of Trump's grandfather as a gift and invited him to visit his hometown.
