BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has reaffirmed Germany's determination to take a leading role in European defense. Marking the 70th anniversary of Germany's accession to NATO, Merz pointed to the substantial increase in defense spending.
"With these resources, we will do everything in the coming years to make the Bundeswehr the strongest conventional army in the European Union, as befits a country of our size and economic strength and as our allies rightly expect of us," Merz said during a ceremonial event in Berlin.
In the coming years, Germany will take the lead in strengthening the European pillar of NATO. This commitment also extends to supporting Ukraine, which is defending our shared freedom. Merz stated, "The path to a just peace lies through strength, not through weakness or, worse, capitulation in the face of aggression."
