Image: Piroschka van de Wouw/REUTERS
New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear that Berlin is back at the European top table, seeking to steer the bloc at a time of daunting challenges, as the new chancellor made his maiden visit to Brussels.
After back-to-back trips to neighbors in Paris and Warsaw, Merz’s visit sought to turn the page on months of political turmoil in Germany that left Berlin struggling to act decisively on the EU stage.
“Germany needs to play a strong role, an active role, in the European Union, and the German government is going to do so,” he told a news conference alongside EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“In a way, I’m coming home to Brussels, coming home to Europe,” said the 69-year-old German conservative leader who cut his teeth as an EU lawmaker three decades ago.
Merz, who has long been critical of his predecessor Olaf Scholz, has said he aims to end Germany’s “speechlessness” on European policy, particularly since the collapse of his so-called traffic light coalition last November.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for member states to jointly tackle migration as she hosted new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose government is moving to turn back asylum-seekers at its borders.
“Migration is a common European challenge and it needs a common European solution,” the EU Commission president told a news conference alongside Merz.
Having been elected on a pledge to clamp down on migration, conservative Merz made one of his first official steps a unilateral move to reject undocumented migrants, including asylum-seekers at Germany’s borders. That step prompted notable displeasure from some member states, foremost Poland.
Von der Leyen stressed that actions “have to be time-limited” and “closely coordinated” with the Commission and neighboring countries.
The German initiative was a central part of Merz’s strategy to reclaim momentum from the anti-immigration, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which placed second in February’s general election.
Merz said he had notified French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in advance about the “temporary” measures.
Addressing reporters in Brussels alongside von der Leyen, Merz sought to reassure his partners that “there is no German solo attempt here,” and he promised to keep acting “in accordance with European law.”
