U.S. strategy shows need for more European security independence, German chancellor says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the Trump administration’s new national security strategy underscored the need for Europe to become much more independent.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the Trump administration’s new national security strategy underscored the need for Europe to become “much more independent” from the U.S. in terms of security policy.

Merz also pushed back against the notion that European democracy needed saving.

The U.S. strategy, published on Friday, paints European allies as weak, while offering tacit support to far-right political parties, and was critical of European free speech and migration policy.

Speaking on Monday, European Council president Antonio Costa warned the U.S. against interfering in Europe's affairs and said only European citizens could decide which parties should govern them.

Merz, the leader of the European Union's most populous nation and its biggest economy, said he was not surprised by the substance of the strategy as it was largely in line with a lecture Vice President JD Vance gave to European allies in Munich in February.