// LEADERS' VIEWS
FRIEDRICH MERZ, CHANCELLOR, GERMANY
N ATO [North Atlantic Treaty has been a member of this alliance, … which is much more than an alliance of defence. It is a political alliance of transatlantic cooperation between America and Europe, and … I hope very much, and I also assume, that we will be able to maintain and further develop this transatlantic alliance in the way we’ve done over the last 75 years … … It is we, the allies, who decide about our capabilities to defend ourselves, our lives in peace and security and freedom … We know that Germany needs to do more so we took the decision … to change the constitution and make it possible to enhance defence spending. Clearly we will now be able to spend more than 1% of German GDP [gross domestic product] for defence … We can spend Organization ] has existed for 75 years. For 70 years Germany the money that needs to be spent in order to make sure we are able to defend ourselves in this alliance. I also want to say, clearly, that this is not only about more money. As a priority we will also need to look at efficiency, increasing efficiency, and I would like to say three buzzwords here: simplification, being the first; the second is standardization; the third is … economy of scale. We need to make sure that in Europe … we become more efficient in our procurement and also that we really produce more, [so] that we have this economy of scale. We need more equipment for the money that we spend … … The war of aggression Russia is waging against Ukraine is a full-front aggression, not only against territorial integrity but against the entire political order of Europe after 1990 … It is a massive attack against our political order. I am very grateful that yesterday evening I had the opportunity to have a phone call with the American president … He informed me about his plan for an unconditional ceasefire of 30 days in Ukraine. I fully agree with that. I also know that the French government, the British government and the Polish government see it the same way … Ukraine is in favour
Transatlantic resolve in Ukraine and beyond
… America has made this proposal … So the ball is exclusively in Moscow’s court right now … It’s another test case, if you will, a very precise one, about how serious the Russian president is about reaching peace in Ukraine … … Also after a peace deal Ukraine will need to get support. We will do that together and as the German government, we will continue to work for strengthening the European pillar within NATO … We will enhance our defence capacities regardless of Ukraine. In our own territorial interest, we will enhance our defence efforts … … The right answer is not money alone. This is a process that needs to go hand in hand with production capacities that need to be expanded. They need to focus on a strongly reduced number of weapon systems. We have far too many different systems that cost a lot of money. There are inefficiencies both in terms of scale and in terms of specifications that need to be reduced. We need simpler systems. I’m very interested to see what the industry in Ukraine has been doing in terms of efficient production in Ukraine over the last three years under the conditions of a war of aggression. I think we can learn so much from Ukraine. They have managed to do so many things over the last year, especially when it comes to producing drones, for example … So I will not only talk about money if we do not talk about these three topics together: simplification, standardisation and scale. That is clearly scaling up the number of fewer systems … We of course need to discuss infrastructure as well – infrastructure that we need for military means but also civilian purposes, good streets and roads and bridges for transport … … It needs to be clear that Ukraine decides in a sovereign way on the path it wants to take. It has decided to file for membership of the European Union … If Ukraine fulfills these criteria it is a welcome member within the European Union. Ukraine has to remain a sovereign actor deciding on its own political and military alliances … As spoken by an interpreter at a press conference at NATO, 9 March 2025
14 // G7 CANADA: THE KANANASKIS SUMMIT 2025
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator