“My Absolute Priority Is to Strengthen Europe”: Merz Calls for Independence From the USA

Friedrich Merz, the leading candidate for becoming Germany’s next chancellor, has expressed doubts about NATO's future, stating that Europe may need to establish its own army.

This was reported by the BBC, citing Merz during a post-election debate on February 23.

“I would never have thought that I would have to say something like this in a TV show but, after Donald Trump’s remarks last week… it is clear that this government does not care much about the fate of Europe,” Merz said.

“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.”

Merz questioned whether NATO would still exist in its current form by the alliance’s next summit in June, suggesting that Europe may need to develop an independent defense capability much sooner than anticipated.

Politico reported that two days before the election, Merz issued a warning that Europe must be prepared to defend itself without the U.S.

“We must prepare for the possibility that Donald Trump will no longer uphold NATO’s mutual defense commitment unconditionally,” said Merz, hinting that Germany could seek nuclear protection from its European allies.

“We need to have discussions with both the British and the French, the two European nuclear powers, about whether nuclear sharing, or at least nuclear security from the UK and France, could also apply to us,” he said.

On February 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that as long as Ukraine remains outside NATO, the country’s 800,000-strong army must receive external financial support.

During the same conference, the Ukrainian President stated that he was willing to leave his post in exchange for peace in Ukraine or the country’s NATO accession.