The German Mertz admits Europe has been eating in the US

German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz has accepted accusations in the United States that Europe is doing too little to fund its own protection and security, but now he believes they are on the same page.

“We know we have to do more alone and in the past we were free competitors,” he told the BBC Today program, “They ask us to do more and do more.”

Mertz was in the United Kingdom to strengthen the defense connections with Germany as part of a historical friendship treaty, which also aims to cope with improper migration and to promote youth exchange.

The war of Russia with Ukraine framed the first weeks of its Chancellor, as well as the threat of US President Donald Trump to impose 30% rates on the import of exports of the European Union since August 1.

Mertz told Nick Robinson in his first interview with the United Kingdom as a chancellor that he had now met Trump three times and they were in good speaking conditions: “I think President Trump is on the same page; we are trying to put this war.”

“We are on the phone once a week; we coordinate our efforts. One of the problems is the war in Ukraine and the other is our trade debate and rates.”

Mertz was a vocal supporter of Ukraine along the campaign trail and visited Kiev months before taking the right Christian democrats in Germany to win the February elections.

Four days after he swore in early May, he was on a train to Kiev in a Solidarity Show with Prime Minister Sir Kayer Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron of France.

“We see a great threat and the threat is Russia. And this threat is not just for Ukraine. This is our peace, our freedom, the political order of Europe,” he warned.

At the beginning of the German elections, US Vice President JD Vance shocked an audience at the Munich Security Conference with a list of accusations against European allies, including the UK.

Reflecting on the remarks, Merz said the government “must take out our consequences.” The message from Vance’s “very open way”, in other words, was heard strongly and clearly.

Canan Atilgan of the Conrad Adenauer Foundation in London, which is closely linked to the mertz party, believes he had a deep influence on the incoming chancellor: “I think in Munich we think we have lost Americans – we have to take care of ourselves – and then Zelenski in the oval office happened. “

Even before he swore, the Chancellor turned through a change in the German Constitution to enable a huge rise in defense costs, saying that the rule of German protection is to do everything necessary.

“We are not strong enough, our army is not strong enough, so this is the reason why we spend a lot of money,” he said in an interview with the BBC.

Together, the United Kingdom, Germany and France are working on the Triangular Union of Great European Powers, called E3, which Mertz says will focus not only on security and foreign policy, but also on economic growth.

The Chancellor said he is now “very close to Keyer Starmer” and with the French president. Macron should visit him in Berlin next week.

The French leader signed a broad contract with Germany in Aachen in 2019, and last week he agreed a more in-depth defense pact during a state visit to the UK, so the British friendship contract ended a triangle of bilateral links.

Sitting in the plush setting of the German Embassy, Friedrich Mertz was about to head to the Victoria and Albert Museum to sign the Pact with the Prime Minister.

Mertz said the bilateral treaty renewed the commitment of the two allies to defend themselves – which was not only part of the NATO treaty, but before that it was part of their union when the United Kingdom was in the EU.

British and German companies are already collaborating in the production of products such as Typhoon Eurofighter Jets and Boxer Armored vehicles, and the two governments have agreed to launch joint export campaigns that Downing Street believes can attract billions of pounds.

They also developed a 2000 km rocket (1250 miles), and later the chancellor said at a press conference that Ukraine would soon receive significant additional support in “long-distance fire”.

The 69 -year -old Mertz is considered a strong believer in the Transatlantic Union and has known the United States well from his years outside the policy working for an American investment company.

However, on the night of his victory in the election, he stated that the Trump administration was “largely indifferent to the fate of Europe”, a remark that was seen at that time as non -diplomatic to the Chancellor’s waiting.

Asked if he had changed his mind since then, he said it was not, since Trump is not as clear and as engaged as former US presidents, former US administrations are. “

The Americans were moving away from Europe and turning to Asia, he noticed, so it was important to look at more independence than US protection.

The United Kingdom largely escapes the turbulence around US rates for its exports, but the European Union is facing a few more than two weeks and the threat of 30% rates for all its goods.

EU trade negotiator Maros Chief Travel travels to Washington this week in search of a deal that will spare all 27 countries of the jump in US taxes.

Mertz sees high tariffs as unacceptable and kills the export industry in Germany.

“My observation is that the president himself sees the challenges and that he is ready to reach an agreement. He receives it.”

Another important element of the United Royal Treaty Treaty is Berlin’s agreement to change the law on criminalization of smugglers storing small boats in Germany for use in illegal channel crossings. The storage of boats in Germany was revealed by an investigation into BBC last year.

The chancellor said his government would “do our home immediately” and expected that it would not take long to run through parliament after a summer vacation.

There are also plans for a direct railway from London to Berlin, and British and German students participate in exchanges that have declined after Brexit.

Mertz said that he hoped that the first people who could see a practical difference from the friendship treaty would be students so that the more junior generation can stimulate relations between the two allies in the future.