Germany’s Friedrich Merz questions longevity of Nato’s ‘current form’
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Mr Friedrich Merz, who is Germany’s likely next chancellor, has advocated talks with Europe’s nuclear powers France and Britain about an expansion of their nuclear protection.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BERLIN – Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned on Feb 23 whether Nato would remain in its “current form” by June, in the light of the comments by US President Donald Trump’s administration, and that Europe must quickly establish an independent defence capability.
“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,” Mr Merz told German public broadcaster ARD after his conservatives won a national election
Last week, the Trump administration shocked European allies by telling them they must take care of their own security and rely less on the United States, while announcing talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine without involving Europe.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth warned Europeans that “stark strategic realities” would prevent the US from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.
Referring to a Nato summit scheduled for June, Mr Merz said he was curious to see “whether we will still be talking about Nato in its current form then or whether we will have to establish an independent European defence capability much more quickly”.
On Feb 21, Mr Merz told public broadcaster ZDF that Germany would need to come to terms with the possibility that Mr Trump might not stick with Nato’s mutual-defence pledge unrestrictedly.
He said this meant that Berlin might need to become less reliant on the US with regard to a nuclear umbrella, too, and advocated talks with Europe’s nuclear powers France and Britain about an expansion of their nuclear protection.
Mr Merz, a transatlanticist, has been more hawkish against Russia than Chancellor Olaf Scholz, suggesting medium-range Taurus missiles might be sent to Kyiv under his tenure, something Mr Scholz has strictly rejected.
On Feb 23, he was echoed by Economic Affairs Minister Robert Habeck, whose Greens may form part of a new coalition government with Mr Merz’s conservatives.
“We are in a historically unique situation now. The Americans do not only leave Europe alone but also work against Europe,” Mr Habeck warned. REUTERS
