The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), candidate for chancellor of Germany from the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, Friedrich Merz, has called for a coordinated European response to the policies of US President-elect Donald Trump.
“As long as European member states are united, they will be respected in the world, including in the US. And as long as they are divided, no one will take us seriously“, Merz told reporters in Berlin. However, he added that Trump is very predictable. “He does what he says. “He means what he says and does what he says“, the politician said, noting that this leads to problems.
Merz also commented on the issue of defense spending. "We agree that we all need to do much more together," he said. But before discussing joint European initiatives and funding, we need to talk about simplifying standards, for example in public procurement, the CDU leader believes.
Trump announced in early January that he would push for NATO countries to increase their military spending to 5% of their GDP. Trump's inauguration ceremony is scheduled for January 20.