Europe must more forcefully assert itself to ensure peace and prosperity in 2026, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in his New Year’s address to the nation on Dec. 31.
Merz picked out a series of challenges facing the continent, including Russian aggression, global protectionism, and shifting ties with the United States.
“A terrible war is raging in Europe,” the chancellor said. “It is a war that directly threatens our freedom and our security. Our economy is under pressure from necessary reforms, high costs, and global trade conflicts.”
He went on to say that in light of new technologies that are “revolutionizing our working world and our social interactions,” his government had decided to seek “the renewal of the foundations of our freedom, our security, and our prosperity for the coming years and perhaps decades.”
Merz added that this renewal could only be achieved by securing peace and freedom in Europe.
Addressing the ongoing war between Moscow and Kyiv, he said that “Russia is continuing its war of aggression against Ukraine with undiminished ferocity.”
“And it is not a distant war that does not affect us, because we are seeing ever more clearly that Russia’s attack was and is part of a plan directed against all of Europe,” Merz said. “Germany, too, is being subjected to sabotage, espionage, and cyberattacks on a daily basis.”
Russian assets worth up to $250 billion have been frozen in the EU since the United States and its allies banned transactions with Moscow’s central bank and finance ministry after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
He said another challenge stems from the resurgence of protectionism in the global economy, and that Europe’s dependence on imported raw materials was increasingly being wielded as a political sword against the continent.
“Our strategic dependence on raw materials is increasingly being used as political leverage against our interests. These geopolitical upheavals have a major impact on our prosperity, and we, as an export nation, feel this particularly acutely,” he said.
Germany has been trying to navigate a difficult course between reducing its reliance on Chinese goods and coping with trade tensions and the effects of the United States’ trade tariff policies, which have damaged the usually lucrative automotive industry in Europe’s largest economy.
He added that the nature of Germany’s and Europe’s relationships with the United States as the “guarantor of our security” was changing.
“For us Europeans, this means we must defend and assert our interests much more strongly on our own,” he said.
However, issuing a note of hope, he said Europe must be guided by confidence, not fear, and must take matters into its own hands.
“This can be a decisive year for our country and for Europe. It can be a year in which Germany and Europe, with new strength, reconnect with decades of peace, freedom, and prosperity.
“Let’s not listen to the fearmongers and pessimists. Instead, let’s trust in ourselves and our democratic processes.”
In addition to these international issues, he also made reference to Germany’s problems at home, including major reforms to state pensions and welfare set to take effect in 2026.
