In an address to Germany’s parliament, the , German Chancellor on Thursday called for improving European economic and defense cooperation as bulwarks against economic decline and outside security threats.
Most prominently, Merz made the case for bolstering German and defense capabilities in Europe, saying that being “a force for peace in the world” was one of the founding ideals of the European Union.
Welcomes ‘historic day’ in Middle East, praises Netanyahu and Trump
Merz began Thursday’s address to the lower house of parliament by hailing what he termed a “historic day” as .
“After 738 days in captivity, on October 13, all 20 surviving hostages were freed from the hands of the terrorist organization Hamas, with four German citizens among them,” Merz said. “They’re home. They’re with their families. And that fills us, and me personally, with great joy and relief.”
Merz said their release and the ceasefire was possible primarily because of cooperation between US President and Israeli Prime Minister .
He thanked both these leaders, and also Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but no Palestinian authorities.
‘Europe … must bring its power to bear’
He said the past week had raised hopes of a “real and lasting peace in the region, but also said that he, Germany and the EU could take a lesson from the events.
“Political action makes a difference in this world, for better and for worse,” Merz said. “Europe must make more decisive and unified use of its capabilities. It must bring its power to bear, to shape the world for the better.”
Speaking ahead of an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on October 23, the chancellor reiterated his support for plans to bolster defense spending and for Germany to take a more assertive role within Europe.
“Peace can only exist in freedom when it’s founded on strength,” said Merz, “with economic strength, with political strength and determination, and also with military strength.”
He said “historic lessons” had shown EU members that individually they were “too economically and politically small” to influence world events by themselves.
“But all together, in an alliance, we all have the possibility to help shape a better world,” he said.
Repeats call to use Russian assets to pay for weapons for Ukraine
Addressing and the more general threat it poses to Europe, such as , Merz accused the Kremlin of waging what he halled “an insecurity offensive” against the continent.
“We won’t allow ourselves to be intimidated. We’ll defend against it,” he said, citing Germany’s new National Security Council that’s set to convene for the first time in a few days as one example of this resolve.
Merz accused the far-right opposition AfD of helping to spread Russian disinformation, to applause from the chamber.
The chancellor also repeated his call for some €140 billion ($163 billion) in frozen Russian assets to be used to invest in weapons for Ukraine. He said that if Russia could not be induced to negotiate peace, it must be taught that it is far more costly to attempt to win the war militarily.
“These additional funds are to be used exclusively to finance military equipment,” Merz said of the billions currently frozen in the EU, “Paid out in tranches, they would secure Ukraine’s military resilience for years to come.”
Merz said that Ukraine would repay the loans only after Russia had paid war reparations.
This is a contentious idea in some parts of Europe, not least Belgium, where the money is held. On a recent trip to Berlin, Prime Minister Bart de Wever warned of potential legal and economic ramifications, .
German leadership in a more competitive Europe
Merz also made the case for more German leadership within the EU, claiming neither the EU nor Germany could flourish without one another.
Merz called for improved competitiveness and less regulation at the national and the EU level, saying, “We don’t need more rules — we need fewer and better rules” in order to “increase productivity to remain competitive.”
The German chancellor could prove unpopular in some quarters in Brussels next week, given his pledge last week to . While he made no explicit mention of this on Thursday, he appeared to allude to it as he called for more open markets, less regulations, and fewer bans.
“Europe will only become more productive when it fundamentally transforms itself,” he said. “But not just with regulations and definitely not with bans, rather with open technologies, with innovation, with competitiveness, particularly in those technological areas that make environmental protection possible in the first place.”
Edited by: Mark Hallam
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