US EditionChancellor Merz Outlines Vision for Bundeswehr as Europe's Leading Military Force
- On May 14, 2025, Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressed the Bundestag in Berlin to outline plans to make Germany's military Europe’s strongest conventional force.
- This announcement follows Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which led Chancellor Olaf Scholz to shift Germany’s defense policy and increase military spending.
- Merz committed to fully financing Germany's military buildup, exempting defense expenditures above 1% of GDP from the constitutional debt limit, and plans to increase troop numbers to 203,000 by 2031.
- In his speech, Merz emphasized that a powerful military discourages hostile actions, while a weak one encourages them, and he committed to allocating all necessary funding to develop the Bundeswehr into Europe’s leading conventional force.
- This initiative signals Germany’s commitment to European security amid Russian threats and reflects unity with Western allies and unconditional support for Ukraine.
122 Articles
122 Articles
Strongest Army in Europe? Germany Is Serious
The German neo-German chancellor Friedrich Merz has "promised tangible changes for the country. Not 24 hours later the doubling of the defense expenditures was announced - and many rub their eyes. Behind the announcement is a message to Donald Trump, a new German self-understanding and creative accounting. The times of despising seem past. Merz apparently wants to become a Chancellor of the Superlatives. His change of politics is also an acousti…
Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants the German army to be "the most powerful in Europe on the conventional level"
In his first speech to the Bundestag, he stressed the country's rearmament, referring more quickly to domestic policy issues, such as immigration, a subject which was nevertheless very sensitive in the country.
Germany aims to have Europe’s ‘strongest conventional army’
BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged on Wednesday to build up “the strongest conventional army in Europe” as the continent faces a hostile Russia while the Ukraine war rages on. “This is appropriate for Europe’s most populous and economically powerful country,” Merz told parliament. “Our friends and partners also expect this from us. Indeed, they practically demand it.” In his first major address to the Bundestag since his government…
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