Main German chancellor candidate Merz vows extra assertive international function

By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) – German opposition chief Friedrich Merz, tipped to develop into the subsequent chancellor, mentioned on Thursday he wished to win again the misplaced belief of key allies and guarantee Berlin is extra assertive on the worldwide stage in a speech laying out his overseas coverage plans.

He additionally mentioned calls by U.S. President Donald Trump, who returned to energy on Jan. 20, for Europe to do extra to defend itself offered a possibility for the continent to strengthen.

Germany’s companions have struggled in recent times to strategise with Berlin as a result of infighting inside Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s awkward three-way coalition, Merz mentioned in a speech that centered extra on Europe than transatlantic relations.

That discord in the end led to the coalition’s collapse late final yr, prompting a snap election on Feb. 23 that Merz’s conservatives are on monitor to win by a big margin.

If elected head of presidency, Merz mentioned, he would create a nationwide safety council anchored within the chancellery to higher coordinate all points that contact on overseas, improvement and defence coverage throughout the totally different ministries, so Berlin would communicate with one robust voice.

“The instances when European companions acquired totally different solutions from Berlin – relying on whether or not they have been within the Chancellery, the International Workplace or the Ministry of Finance – have to be a factor of the previous,” Merz informed the occasion in Berlin.

The 69-year-old conservative, who was a deputy within the European Parliament from 1989-94, mentioned he would count on all cupboard members to usually attend EU Council conferences in Brussels to make sure Germany’s voice was properly represented.

He would solely appoint ministers and deputy ministers from his celebration who have been capable of talk in English.

“The overriding maxim of (my) authorities will subsequently be that Germany will be relied on once more, we preserve our phrase, we are going to make selections – and as soon as a call has been made we persist with it,” he mentioned.

FENCE-MENDING WITHIN EUROPE

Key could be fixing relations with high European allies, he mentioned. Germany wanted to talk extra with Poland and higher coordinate stances with France for the European Council, which teams the 27 heads of presidency within the European Union.

Merz additionally mentioned Germany would now not limit weapons deliveries to Israel, he mentioned, relatively ship it no matter it wants.

“It should develop into unmistakably clear once more: Germany is

not caught between two stools, (relatively) Germany stands firmly on the facet of Israel,” he mentioned.

Europe additionally must reform its army procurement system to get extra bang for its buck, he mentioned. At present European nations have been growing, producing and sustaining 178 weapons programs in comparison with simply 30 for america.

“These redundancies value some huge cash and waste potential,” he mentioned. “I need ‘Made in Europe’ to match the standard and amount of defence tools of the USA.”

Requested about Trump’s insistence america wanted to take management of Greenland from Denmark, he performed down the remarks, saying they amounted to a technique to focus consideration on the strategic significance of the huge Arctic island.

Denmark acknowledged earlier this month that it had lengthy uncared for the defence of Greenland.

Merz additional urged america and the EU to lastly agree on a free commerce deal relatively than fall right into a tariff spiral, as many worry with Trump and his “America First” agenda, that will solely make everybody poorer.