{"id":2527504,"date":"2025-12-31T16:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T21:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/germanys-merz-says-europe-must-defend-and-assert-interests\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T16:30:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T21:30:49","slug":"germanys-merz-says-europe-must-defend-and-assert-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/germanys-merz-says-europe-must-defend-and-assert-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany&#8217;s Merz says Europe must &#8216;defend and assert&#8217; interests"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgermanys-merz-says-europe-must-defend-and-assert-interests%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2527504&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>German Chancellor Friedrich Merz used his New Year&#8217;s address to urge Germany and Europe to take greater responsibility for their security and interests as trans\u2011Atlantic relations evolve. He warned that the long-standing U.S.role as a reliable security guarantor is changing and said Europeans must &#8220;defend and assert&#8221; their interests more strongly on their own. Merz touched on a range of issues &#8211; rising protectionism, Russia&#8217;s aggression in Ukraine, and increased sabotage, espionage, and cyberattacks &#8211; and called for Germany to reclaim international prominence rather than defer to &#8220;great powers.&#8221; He highlighted recent steps toward remilitarization, including a revitalized voluntary military service, a new National Security Council, and parliamentary moves toward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-raphael-warnock-used-millions-in-fed-cash-to-dismantle-an-atlanta-jail\/\" title=\"How R...hael Warnock Used Millions in Fed Cash to Dismantle an Atlanta Jail\">compulsory service<\/a>. The speech came amid what observers describe as a growing rift with the U.S. since President Trump&#8217;s return to office, and it coincided with domestic debates over public safety after dangerous New Year&#8217;s fireworks incidents.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Germany&rsquo;s Merz says Europe must &lsquo;defend and assert&rsquo; interests amid &lsquo;changing&rsquo; relations with US<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2457724\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>German Chancellor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/friedrich-merz\/\">Friedrich Merz<\/a> delivered a national address on New Year&rsquo;s Eve that warned Europeans to take the future into their own hands without relying on the United States.<\/p>\n<p>In his first speech since being elected to lead <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/germany\/\">Germany<\/a> earlier this year, Merz called on his nation and the wider continent to take a more aggressive posture defending their interests amid changes in the trans-Atlantic alliance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4375504\/netanyahu-downplays-settler-violence-west-bank-despite-trump-concerns\/\">Netanyahu downplays settler violence in West Bank despite Trump&#8217;s concerns<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4375386\/mali-burkina-faso-ban-us-nationals-retaliation-trump-travel-restrictions\/\">Mali and Burkina Faso ban US nationals in retaliation for Trump travel restrictions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4364840\/uk-government-squirms-repatriate-antisemitic-activist-egypt\/\">UK government squirms after repatriating antisemitic, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagons-education-diversity-chief-has-to-go\/\" title=\"Pentagon\u2019s Education \u201cDiversity Chief\u201d Has to Go\">anti-white activist<\/a> from Egypt<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Our partnership with the United States of America, which has long been the reliable guarantor of our security, is changing,&rdquo; Merz <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bundeskanzler.de\/resource\/blob\/1833748\/2401386\/39645b6997fb26b29efb1e85ee998475\/2025-12-31-neujahrsansprache-bk-en-pdf-data.pdf?download=1\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;For us Europeans, this means that we must defend and assert our interests much more strongly by ourselves.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">German Chancellor Friedrich Merz looks into the photographer&rsquo;s camera on the sidelines of the recording of the Federal Chancellor&rsquo;s New Year&rsquo;s address in Berlin, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Kay Nietfeld\/DPA via AP, Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It is the latest evidence of a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/3913408\/denmark-labels-us-possible-security-threat-over-uncertainty\/\">growing rift<\/a> between the U.S. and its European allies since President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> returned to the Oval Office in January.<\/p>\n<p>The warning of deterioration in U.S.-EU relations was just one of many topics Merz addressed, including &ldquo;protectionism in the global economy,&rdquo; Russia&rsquo;s &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia-ukraine-war\/\">aggression<\/a>&rdquo; in Ukraine, and daily &ldquo;sabotage, espionage, and cyberattacks&rdquo; within Germany itself.<\/p>\n<p>Merz called on Germany to reclaim its international prominence and abandon a mentality of deferring conflict to &ldquo;great powers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Esteemed fellow citizens, all of these developments show that we are witnessing an epochal shift,&rdquo; the chancellor said. &ldquo;But I want to tell you, with the very deepest inner conviction, that it is up to us to overcome each of these challenges with our own strength. We are not the victims of extraneous circumstances. We are not at the mercy of great powers. Our hands are not tied.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The White House has treated Europe with a carrot-and-stick approach &mdash; at times <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3911833\/ukraine-zelensky-trying-keep-us-peace-plan-alive\/\">chastising the European Union<\/a> for failing to take sufficient actions to ensure its self-defense, and other times talking about a &ldquo;sentimental&rdquo; attachment to the continent and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3997096\/marco-rubio-crusades-western-civilization-warning-european-mass-migration-threaten-nato\/\">seeking to save it<\/a> from &ldquo;civilizational erasure.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>European leaders have both heeded the U.S. demands for greater military capacity and lambasted the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a> as having betrayed their alliance.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">New recruits of the German Army Bundeswehr attend a ceremony to take their oath in front of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament in D&uuml;sseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Remilitarization was a major topic of Merz&rsquo;s address on Wednesday, with the chancellor boasting of a reinvigorated voluntary military service, the newly established National Security Council, and the Bundestag&rsquo;s movement toward compulsory military enrollment.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-years\">New Year&rsquo;s celebrations<\/a> in Germany are notoriously raucous and unrestrained, with citizens of all ages flooding the streets to set off commercial and homemade fireworks.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/3916324\/germany-poland-baltics-prepare-war-uk-france-pretend-prepare\/\">IN FOCUS: GERMANY, POLAND, AND THE BALTICS PREPARE FOR WAR; THE UK, FRANCE, AND OTHERS PRETEND TO PREPARE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The wild celebrations have become a major subject of debate, with critics of the country&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >loose firework laws demanding tighter regulations due<\/a> to frequent bodily harm.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/12\/31\/germany-berlin-silvester-new-year-fireworks\/\">five people died<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-to-stay-safe-on-independence-day-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"How to stay safe on Independence Day - Washington Examiner\">fireworks-related incidents<\/a>, and hundreds more were injured in Berlin alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merz: Europe must defend interests amid US shift<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2527505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25364151187104_616f04.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32233,50462,54700,32404,3946],"class_list":["post-2527504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-european-union","tag-foreign-policy-2","tag-friedrich-merz","tag-geopolitics","tag-germany"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25364151187104_616f04.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2527504"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2527508,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527504\/revisions\/2527508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2527505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2527504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2527504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2527504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}