Merz Frames EU’s Resistance to U.S. Pressure as "Self Respect"

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz used a speech to parliament on Thursday to frame Europe’s current posture as a deliberate assertion of political and economic autonomy, arguing that the bloc has rediscovered “self-respect” in defending a rules-based global order while preparing to counter U.S. tariff pressure.

His remarks came after an emergency European Union summit convened over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to use tariffs amid disputes tied to Greenland and global trade. Merz said Europe would still extend cooperation to Washington but would no longer be cowed by economic coercion, stressing that rules-based action and trade “were not dead” even as great-power rivalry intensifies.

Rules-Based Order Under Pressure

Merz described the present moment as one of structural change, telling lawmakers that for weeks “we have been seeing with increasing clarity the emergence of a world of great powers,” adding that “rough winds are blowing in this world.”

He said Europe had recently experienced “the joy of self-respect,” pointing to swift EU coordination against tariff intimidation.

Last week, we demonstrated that we in the EU can act swiftly when necessary… We were united in our determination not to be intimidated by tariff threats again.

Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz

“We Won’t be Treated with Contempt”

The chancellor’s stance was sharpened by the Greenland dispute, which threatened to strain NATO cohesion, and by Trump’s criticism of European military contributions. Merz directly rebutted claims that European forces avoided combat in Afghanistan, stating: “59 Bundeswehr soldiers lost their lives during the nearly 20-year deployment in Afghanistan. Well over 100 were partially, seriously injured in combat operations and attacks.” He added, “We will not allow this mission - which we also carried out in the interest of our alliance partner, the United States of America - to be treated with contempt or disparaged today.”

The Afghanistan deployment lasted almost 20 years, with fatalities totaling 59 and injuries exceeding 100, figures Merz cited to underscore Europe’s security commitments inside NATO. He simultaneously called for a stronger NATO within Europe, signaling that greater European capacity should complement, not replace, transatlantic cooperation.

Merz also tied strategic resolve to competitiveness. In remarks he made almost a week ago, he had warned that the growth gap between Europe, the United States, and China “has widened since the 1980s,” arguing that this trend weakens “European sovereignty.”

He said Berlin wants to dismantle bureaucracy to regain economic momentum, while highlighting EU trade agreements with Mercosur and India as examples of Europe pushing ahead amid global uncertainty.

Dependence Vs Autonomy

Not all voices in Germany align fully with Merz’s emphasis on autonomy. CSU leader Markus Söder, a key political ally, outlined the countervailing realities of military and technological dependence on Washington.

“We need the United States of America militarily - not to mention technologically,” Söder said. He added that calculations showed Germany would have to raise defense spending to 10 percent of GDP to manage without U.S. support, and warned that withdrawing from American technologies that underpin Germany’s digital infrastructure would set the country back dramatically.

Together, the exchanges illuminate Europe’s central trade-off: asserting sovereignty while remaining embedded in U.S.-led security and technology systems.

Merz’s message to parliament sought to balance these pressures, presenting EU readiness to retaliate on tariffs as a sign of institutional maturity rather than rupture, and framing closer European coordination as a response to a world shaped by Russia’s war in Ukraine, tensions over Greenland, and widening economic divergence with both the United States and China.