Speaking at a conference of German ambassadors, Merz warned of mounting “hybrid attacks” by Russia against critical infrastructure and pointed to Moscow’s “provocations in the North and the Baltic seas.”
He said Europe now faces “historic challenges,” chief among them building a new security architecture designed to last for decades.
“What we have called the liberal world order is under pressure from many sides, including within the political West,” Merz said.
“A new conflict has broken out between liberal democracies and an axis of autocracies.”
Merz announced that his government has begun strengthening Germany’s defense capabilities amid uncertainty about the future strength of the trans-Atlantic alliance under U.S. President Donald Trump. He said he wants Germany to field “the strongest conventional army” in Europe.
“We in Europe must adjust our interests—without false nostalgia,” Sky News quoted the chancellor.