By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke
BERLIN (Reuters) – German opposition chief Friedrich Merz, tipped to turn into the following chancellor, stated 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 stated 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 on account of infighting inside Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s awkward three-way coalition, Merz stated 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 observe to win by a big margin.
If elected head of presidency, Merz stated, he would create a nationwide safety council anchored within the chancellery to raised coordinate all points that contact on overseas, growth and defence coverage throughout the completely different ministries, so Berlin would communicate with one sturdy voice.
“The instances when European companions obtained completely different solutions from Berlin – relying on whether or not they had 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, stated he would anticipate all cupboard members to repeatedly attend EU Council conferences in Brussels to make sure Germany’s voice was nicely represented.
He would solely appoint ministers and deputy ministers from his social gathering who had been in a position to talk in English.
“The overriding maxim of (my) authorities will due to this fact be that Germany will be relied on once more, we hold our phrase, we’ll make selections – and as soon as a call has been made we keep on with it,” he stated.
FENCE-MENDING WITHIN EUROPE
Key could be fixing relations with high European allies, he stated. 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 stated Germany would now not limit weapons deliveries to Israel, he stated, somewhat ship it no matter it wants.
“It should turn into unmistakably clear once more: Germany is
not caught between two stools, (somewhat) Germany stands firmly on the facet of Israel,” he stated.
Europe additionally must reform its navy procurement system to get extra bang for its buck, he stated. At present European international locations had been creating, producing and sustaining 178 weapons methods in comparison with simply 30 for the USA.
“These redundancies value some huge cash and waste potential,” he stated. “I would like ‘Made in Europe’ to match the standard and amount of defence gear of the USA.”
Requested about Trump’s insistence the USA 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 the USA and the EU to lastly agree on a free commerce deal somewhat than fall right into a tariff spiral, as many worry with Trump and his “America First” agenda, that may solely make everybody poorer.
