Merz backs stronger German leadership role in NATO
The Federal Republic joined NATO 70 years ago. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz is calling for a more prominent German position within the alliance.
Berlin (dpa) – Seventy years after Germany joined NATO, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reaffirmed the country’s claim to a leadership role within the alliance. “We will take the lead in the coming years in strengthening the European pillar of the Nato,” said Merz at a ceremony marking the anniversary in Berlin. His government, he stated, would invest new financial resources 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.”
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius expressed similar views. “For our alliance to remain successful, we Europeans must take on more responsibility,” said Pistorius. “Germany will lead the way.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the increase in German defence spending and gratefully accepted the offer of a German leadership role in Europe. “Germany is a driving force in our alliance. We need its leadership and decisive action.”
West Germany became the 15th member of the transatlantic defence alliance on 6 May 1955. 32 countries are by now part of the alliance, with Sweden and Finland being the most recent additions. The two countries were prompted to join the alliance by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.