Germany's Merz: Europe must become less dependent on United States

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz connected Tuesday (December 9, 2025) rejected a blistering onslaught connected European democracies by the Trump administration, which issued a strategy insubstantial past week declaring that the continent faced "civilizational erasure".

The U.S. National Security Strategy, made nationalist past week, caused daze crossed Europe, with a broadside that accused European governments of "subversion of antiauthoritarian processes" and said U.S. argumentation should see "cultivating resistance" wrong the European Union.

The connection of the papers echoed erstwhile disapproval of Europe from starring figures successful the medication including Vice President J.D. Vance, and highlighted the increasing strains betwixt European capitals and Washington.

"Some of it is understandable, immoderate of it is comprehensible, and immoderate of it is unacceptable to america from a European perspective," Mr. Merz told reporters connected a sojourn to the occidental German authorities of Rheinland-Pfalz.

"I spot nary request for the Americans to present privation to prevention ideology successful Europe. If it were indispensable to prevention it, we would negociate that connected our own," helium said.

Leaders including Mr. Merz person acknowledged that Europeans request to rebuild militaries that person withered aft decades of neglect, leaving them heavy babelike connected the U.S. subject for their ain defence.

But they person to tread a cautious enactment betwixt responding to the exceptionally harsh connection from the medication and avoiding alienating their strongest ally.

"The question of what this means for our information practice is evidently the astir important question," Mr. Merz said. "It confirms my appraisal that we successful Europe, and truthful besides successful Germany, indispensable go overmuch much autarkic from the U.S. successful presumption of information policy."

Mr. Merz said Mr. Trump, whose gramps came from Germany, was expected to sojourn adjacent year. "The invitation is there, of course," helium said.