CLEMENS BILAN/EPA
Merz traced the reinforcement of the Armed Forces as the “absolute priority” of the new government. “Our goal is such a strong Germany and Europe together that we will never have to use weapons.”
The new German chancellor, pledged on Wednesday to provide Germany with the “most powerful conventional army in Europe” with the investment unlocked by the leading government.
“The reinforcement of the Armed Forces is our absolute priority”Merz told deputies in Parliament in Berlin, quoted by the France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
Merz said the reinforcement of the German German army, there is a long sub -financed, “is what is expected the most populous and powerful country in Europe.”
“Our friends and partners also wait for us. In fact, they are practically demanding it”, He added, in the first general policy speech as head of the coalition government between conservatives and social democrats.
Merz admitted that the country urgently needs to improve operational readiness and increase the staff of the Armed Forces. Announced, for this, the creation of “a New and attractive Voluntary Military Service”.
“So strong that we will never have to use weapons”
He also mentioned that the lesson to take from the Russian war against Ukraine is that the force to determine the aggressors, while weakness invites aggression.
“Our goal is such a strong Germany and Europe together that we will never have to use weapons,” he said, also quoted by the Spanish news agency Efe.
About the war, he exhorted Europeans and Americans to reject Russia’s peace dictated to Ukraine, which should not be subjected to territorial concessions “against his will.”
He argued to be “vital importance” that the West “does not let himself be divided” by the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, and appealed to the “largest possible unit” among European and American partners.
“Those who believe Russia will be pleased with a victory over Ukraine or the annexation of the country are wrong,” he warned.
Spend more than ever in defense
Merz promised greater cooperation with European defense partners and said that, for this Germany will have to assume more responsibilities within the scope of NATO and the European Union (EU).
“We will fulfill our commitments without” ses “or” but “: in our own interest and in the interest of this great Atlantic alliance,” he insisted.
Merz has at his disposal a legal framework that allows the country, thanks to constitutional reforms approved in March. The reforms allowed to exclude the debt limit for military expenses of more than 1% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), or 43 billion euros (28.3 billion euros, to the current exchange rate).
Germany reached 2% of defense expenses during Olaf Scholz’s mandate, Merz’s predecessor, a percentage considered minimal in the NATO that the current German government leader pledged to maintain.
“Being again economic power”
Merz also said that Germany “can be an economic power again” And it was determined to be determined to put the country “again on the way of growth”, at a time when it is increasingly immersed in the crisis.
Eurozone growth engine for a long time, Germany has been leaving two consecutive years of recession, late compared to European partners, and stagnation threatens Europe’s first economy by 2025.
“We have never lived such a long period without economic growth in the history of our country,” the conservative chancellor told deputies.
Merz said the German economy remains to a large extent competitive, but the conditions of framing cease to be. It promised a mixture of cuts in taxes, reductions in energy prices and cuts in bureaucracy costs for companies.
Germany can “be a growth engine again,” he said.
Italian President in Coimbra calls for a common European defense
The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, considered on Wednesday that it is urgent that it is urgent to advance in the common defense, discussed “for over seventy years” and when “running after events” is now being now.
Sergio Mattarella He spoke at the closing of the 18th Cimec Cotec Europa, at the Convent of San Francisco, in Coimbra, in which the king of Spain, Felipe VI, and the Portuguese head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, also spoke.
In his intervention, the president of Italy stressed the theme of this meeting, “appeal to the action”, and stated that “It is indeed urgently, I would say priority, that Europe acts, because staying still is no longer an option ”.
Mattarella said that “the risks of immobility are well identified in both the Draghi and the Letta report,” elaborated by the former Italian prime ministers Mario Draghi, present in this summit in Coimbra, and Enrico Letta.
Next, the president of Italy highlighted “the European common defense” among the “effective and at the same time ambitious” measures necessary to “avoid such rich.” In his view, the common defense is a matter that, “in its relevance and urgency, well exemplifies the consequences of inaction and unjustified reluctance to pursue the path of integration.”
Mattarella said that “Member States discuss this issue for over seventy years” and questioned “what would be the condition of the Union today, given the altered geopolitical context” if it had already given “this qualitative political leap in the process of integration.”
“Today We are lateto run after events and, consequently, we must feel its urgency, ”he added. To Mattarella,” the initiatives launched in this area by the European Commission are a first fundamental step and show full awareness of what is concerned. “
The president of Italy also argued that “there is plenty of room for improvements” in the single European market.
“The Letta report presented valid proposals to widen the unique market to sectors that were excluded in the past. Among them, finances, energy, telecommunications. But also, and this is a fundamental aspect, research, innovation and education,” he said.
