Friedrich Merz plans to advance to the EU summit opening Europe

Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to make Germany a driving force in the EU again. He wanted to make his personal contribution to the next few years, “said the CDU chairman at the start of his summit premiere in Brussels, in which sanctions against Russia, dealing with Israel and the customs dispute with the USA are due. “Europe is standing decisive weeks and months ago,” said Merz.

For him, the summit marks a return to the European policy stage. Merz had started his political career as a member of the European Parliament, which he belonged to from 1989 to 1994. As an opposition leader, Merz attacked his predecessor Olaf Scholz, SPD, several times for his acting in Brussels.

“Unfortunately, you have to say it like this: The majority of the European heads of state and government simply have no desire to meet the German Chancellor, who either sits in silence for hours or explained the world for hours,” he wrote in his newsletter last December.

Merz wants to do a lot differently and bring Germany back into a real leadership role in Europe. “Germany will take initiatives to revitalize the European idea of ​​freedom and peace so that Europe meets its claims and its importance in the world,” he promised after taking office in his government declaration.

The following topics could play a role in this:

Before the official beginning of the summit, Merz made a first sign by meeting hardliners in relation to EU migration policy-a group of EU countries, which was led by Italy’s head of government Giorgia Meloni, Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof. The meeting was about facilitating returns.

Germany had reintroduced border controls at all German external borders in mid -September 2024 and justified this with the fight against illegal migration. In May, the controls under the new federal government were reinforced and rejections from asylum seekers were ordered at the border – to the annoyance of neighboring countries such as Poland and Luxembourg.

Merz felt a strong headwind at his first summit on the subject of Israel. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez indirectly accused him of double standards because of his rejection of punitive measures against the country. There is no sense that 18 sanction packages are passed against Russia and then it is not able to suspend a partnership agreement with Israel in response to blatant human rights violations in the Gaza Strip, Sánchez criticized. He accused opponents of such a step to measure with “two dimensions”.

The Member States did not find a common line at the summit. In the final declaration on the topic, reference was made only to an internal test report from the EU, according to that Israel violated the EU with his approach in the Gaza Strip for a close cooperation with the EU. The consultations are to be continued “about suitable follow -up measures in July 2025, taking into account the development of the situation on site”, according to the paper.

The first really large test could be the ongoing customs dispute with the USA for Merz. At the EU level, it is currently about keeping the rows closed-partly of very different economic interests. At the summit, the topic should be discussed late Thursday evening.

According to the current status, new high US tariffs will reach for almost all exports from the EU to the United States if no agreement has been reached in the trade dispute by July 9th. In turn, the EU would answer with tariffs on imports from the USA.

From Merz’s point of view, economic pressure is currently the best means to move Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to negotiations on the end of the war of aggression against Ukraine. He has been fighting for this since his Kiev trip at the beginning of his term in May.

He could therefore be happy that a new package with Russia sanctions should be decided at the summit. According to planning, the Russian finance and energy sector will, among other things.

Above all, it will be important for Merz that he fits well into the group of heads of state and government, whom he has already got to know. Particularly important for him: a good connection to French President Emmanuel Macron, whom his predecessor Scholz never found. Merz wants to “restart” in Franco-German relationships-also to advance all over Europe.