Merz proclaims Germany's return to Europe

BrusselsGermany is the largest economy in the European Union and the industrial engine of the continent. It is the most influential power within the European bloc and, of course, its positioning is decisive in the project's future. However, in recent years, the government led by Olaf Scholz has played a rather lax role in Brussels and, in the most difficult times, has made several blind moves in discussions about some of the major decisions recently taken by the European institutions, which has relegated it to a lesser position in the community club.

However, the new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, promises to put an end to the more hesitant Germany that brought more uncertainty than security and predictability to Brussels. "I want to make it clear to everyone that Germany and the new German government can be trusted," the conservative leader stated at a press conference. This Friday—only his third day in office—he met in the EU capital with the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Welt. On Wednesday, he met with Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Merz wants to reassure the rest of the European partners that Germany's last-minute about-faces and the internal contradictions of Scholz's first coalition government, whose positioning often depended on the political affiliation of the minister speaking, are over. However, it's worth remembering that his government also includes another party, the Social Democrats, and depends on their support in the Bundestag, as became clear on Tuesday. when he lost the first vote to be elected chancellor.

Be that as it may, Merz's intention is for Germany to regain its leadership role in the EU, and he has indicated that he plans to meet with Trump in the coming days to discuss the trade conflict and the war in Ukraine. Thus, he assured that he will defend the interests of the entire blog, not just that of Germany. "EU member states cannot do their own thing; we are all part of the same thing, and trade policy is in the hands of the European Commission," he stressed.

In this sense, the chancellor has lowered the tone regarding Donald Trump's United States and opted for a conciliatory speech with the Republican administration, along the same lines as Von der Leyen. "I hope we reach a trade agreement between the EU and the US," Merz stressed. Furthermore, the German leader has fully supported the truce in the war in Ukraine that the White House has promoted, and has assured that he is now "much more optimistic" about the future of NATO and the role of the United States in this organization than after winning the elections, when he stated that The EU was to become "independent" from the US power.

In turn, the President of the European Council emphasized the proactive role Merz aims to play on the European and international stage, and stressed that his arrival "brings new energy and new ideas" to the EU. In contrast, Von der Leyen, who has never had a good relationship with the chancellor and did not congratulate him upon winning the election, adopted a more neutral tone and limited herself to listing the challenges they will have to face together, such as the loss of competitiveness of European industry or the threat posed by the expansionism of Vlad's regime.

Historic shift in German economic policy

The war in Ukraine and its consequences, which have particularly affected the German economy—especially due to its dependence on Russian gas—have in many ways reversed the country's policies. Scholz did not hesitate to abandon the pacifism that has dominated German politics since the end of World War II to support Kiev and rapidly rearm German forces, a task that Merz has pledged to continue.

Now, Merz goes a step further. Just days before being sworn in as chancellor, he agreed with Scholz a historic constitutional reform This breaks the dogma of German austerity and relaxes the debt ceiling. In this way, the conservative leader will be able to deploy his multi-trillion-dollar roadmap to increase Germany's military capacity and, in the process, try to revive German industry and the economy, which are experiencing anemic growth. Even at the European level, the German government is not opposed to the fiscal flexibility proposed by von der Leyen to implement the rearmament plan, which is surprising considering its traditional opposition to expansionary economic policies. However, Merz has warned that this is an exceptional measure and that, in general, he continues to oppose further issuance of common debt with the EU as a whole.