Merz: Germany 'back' on world stage with 'strength and reliability'

Germany is "back on the European and international stage," Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a major foreign policy speech in parliament on Tuesday, highlighting Berlin's new-found "strength and reliability" in the face of rising challenges.

"We have shown our international partners: You can rely on us," said Merz, whose conservative-led administration took office last month. "This new decisiveness is being registered in the world and warmly welcomed by our partners and friends."

The speech came hours before Merz was due to travel to The Hague for the NATO summit, ahead of an EU summit in Brussels later this week.

The new NATO target for defence spending is not a "favour" to the United States, but a response to the threat from Russia out of Germany's "own experience and conviction," Merz said.

NATO members are expected to commit to spending 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence-related expenditure, a major increase on the current 2% target.

"Russia is actively and aggressively threatening the security and the freedom of the common trans-Atlantic space," said Merz. "We must fear that Russia wants to continue its war beyond Ukraine."

"We must together be so strong that no one dares to attack us," the chancellor continued. "In this situation, Germany must take responsibility."

Germany's military is to become "Europe's strongest conventional army," Merz said.

He highlighted the deployment of a German brigade near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and insisted: "The security of Lithuania is also the security of Germany."

"For far too long, we in Germany have not wanted to hear the warnings of our Baltic neighbours about Russia's imperialist policy," Merz stated. "We have recognized this error. After this recognition, there is no way back."

The chancellor said Germany, through its alliances, can help shape global developments in the coming years.

Two prerequisites are required for this, Merz argued. "We need both strength and reliability, both internally and externally," he said, arguing that the two qualities had shaped the new government's work in its opening weeks in office.

Merz's centre-right Christian Democratic Union is in coalition with the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Party.

Merz: No October 7 without Iran

In his speech, Merz said NATO allies would hold discussions on the sidelines of the summit on how the situation in the Middle East could be "stabilized further," after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran overnight.

The chancellor expressed hope that the Israeli and US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities have "permanently" stopped Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

"Without Iran, October 7, 2023, in Israel would not have been possible," Merz said.

By financing and equipping regional "terror organizations" including the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Palestinian extremist group Hamas in Gaza, "the Iranian leadership has been destabilizing the entire Near and Middle East for decades," Merz said.

Iran cannot be allowed "to possess nuclear weapons," he added.

"We hope today that the actions of Israel and the United States of America in recent days will permanently deter Iran from coming even closer to its destructive goal," the German leader said.

Germany is one of Israel's most vocal backers and one of its biggest suppliers of weapons.

Following the Israeli attacks on Iran launched on June 13, German officials including Merz have repeatedly stressed the country's right to self-defence, and the chancellor did so again on Tuesday.

"For years, part of the mullah regime's [founding principles] has been the eradication of the state of Israel," he said, explaining why he thought Israel's attacks on Iran were justified.

Merz welcomed the ceasefire announced by Trump, calling on both sides to heed the deal.

He also called for a ceasefire in Gaza, while stating that Israel has the right to defend its existence and the security of its citizens.

But Germany is allowed to question "what aim Israel seeks to achieve in the Gaza Strip," Merz said. "And we call for humane treatment of the people in the Gaza Strip, especially women, children and the elderly."

Merz further thanked his Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul for his "intensive diplomatic efforts" to seek peace in the Middle East.

He backed Wadephul's stance that the EU withdrawing from a trade agreement with Israel over human rights violations in Gaza is "not in question."

Merz denounces 'barbaric' Russian attacks on Ukraine

The chancellor further condemned "barbaric" Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, after the capital Kiev was hit by a wave of attacks in recent weeks.

"Genuine, lasting peace requires a willingness for peace on all sides," Merz said. "Russia, on the other hand, has made it clear in a barbaric way with its new wave of attacks on the Ukrainian civilian population that it does not currently have this willingness for peace."

Merz also rejected criticism that diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine were not being fully pursued by Western leaders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin only understands "the language of strength," said Merz. "And that's why peace work now means speaking in this language."

To "give in to aggression and abandon one's own country" is not a solution, the chancellor insisted.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for more than three years.

Berlin is one of Kiev's most important allies, but the extent of German military aid for the Ukrainian army has been the source of major political debates.