German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the partnership between the US and Europe is changing, which means they must protect their interests more strongly, Anadolu reports.

Chancellor Merz released a video message on the occasion of the New Year.

“Our partnership with the US, which has long been a reliable guarantor of our security, is also changing. For us Europeans, this means that we must we protect our interests even stronger with our strength”, said Merz in his message.

He emphasized that a terrible war is going on in Europe. “This war directly threatens our freedom and security. Our economy is under pressure due to necessary reforms, high costs and global trade conflicts. Also, new technologies are fundamentally changing our work lives and the way we live together,” Merz added.

According to him, the Russia-Ukraine war directly affects them as well. “We are seeing more and more clearly that Russia’s aggression was and still is part of a plan against the whole of Europe. Germany is also subject to sabotage, espionage and cyber attacks every day,” said the German chancellor.

Merz emphasized the return of protectionism in the global economy.

“Our strategic dependence on raw materials is increasingly being used as a tool of political pressure that is against our interests. These geopolitical changes greatly affect our prosperity and we feel this as an exporting country. In this situation, we need the creativity and productivity of our economy. However, the delay in domestic reforms is hurting the potential of our companies. It is becoming more and more difficult for them to survive in international competition,” he said. they are not playthings for the great powers. “We need to increase our preventive power. We want to increase our defensive power so that we don’t have to defend ourselves,” Merz said.

According to him, Germany and Europe took important decisions to reduce irregular migration. “We are again deciding ourselves who enters our country and who is forced to leave. We have created new incentives for legal and regular migration and at the same time we have closed the roads for illegal and irregular migration. For us, humanity and order are two sides of the same coin,” said Merz.

Source: prizrenpost