German chancellor Friedrich Merz will not support the issuance of joint EU loans to finance the militarisation of the community, saying that “other structural instruments” are needed for this purpose, the politician said at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during his first foreign visit which he made on May 9 in Brussels.
“I share the view of the previous German government that loans cannot be a permanent solution for defence spending. This can only be an exception for the European Union when we go into debt. The EU must also be able to service our debt,” Merz said.
He acknowledged that he was concerned about “the growth of public debt not only in Europe but also in the United States,” noting that this could lead to higher interest rates.
Merz therefore called on the EC to develop structural instruments to finance the community’s militarisation plans. At the same time, he supported the idea of significantly strengthening the militarisation of the European Union and noted that he was “in Brussels on Europe Day.”
The head of the European Commission supported Merz’s plans to increase Germany’s military spending and stressed the importance of the EC’s SAFE plan, which provides for €150 billion in loans guaranteed by the EU to be used to increase investment in the community’s military-industrial complex and Ukraine’s military industry. At the same time, von der Leyen called for “a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine” and increased military aid to Kyiv to “put it in a position of strength” in the negotiations.
Earlier, Merz and Trump agreed during their first telephone conversation to work closely together to end the conflict in Ukraine. As German government spokesman Steffen Seibert emphasised, the American leader intends to support the efforts of European countries to achieve a peaceful settlement.
