NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (left) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (right) at a press conference in the Chancellery in Berlin.Image: keystone
December 11, 2025, 3:32 p.mDecember 11, 2025, 3:32 p.m
After the publication of the new US security strategy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged “absolute priority” to strengthening NATO’s European pillar.
We need a united, strong Europe like never before.”
Friedrich Merz
“It is more important than ever to hold this Europe together even under pressure and not let anything or anyone divide it. We need a united, strong Europe like never before,” said Merz at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Berlin.
In a speech in the German capital, the Dutchman warned unusually clearly about the threat from Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t want to stop at the war against Ukraine. “We are Russia’s next target,” said Rutte.
“We are Russia’s next target”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
For NATO it is now about stopping a war before it starts. Specifically, the Dutchman once again called for more commitment to increasing defense spending and supporting Ukraine.
The comments come at a time of increasing uncertainty about how stable the transatlantic relationship will be in the future under US President Donald Trump. In a security strategy published last week, the US government complained about an alleged loss of democracy and freedom of expression in Europe. The continent is facing major problems, the document said.
Mark Rutte, Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025.Image: keystone
According to the US government, these include, among other things, “censorship of free expression and the suppression of political opposition, plummeting birth rates and the loss of national identities and self-confidence.” Unconfirmed reports also caused a stir that the US government might want to separate individual EU states from the union.
Merz: Keep Europe together even under pressure
Merz said he wanted to assert a united and strong Europe with all his might. “That means that where we can work with the USA in our own interests beyond the rhetoric, we will of course continue to do so,” said the Christian Democrat. This applies in particular to the intensive work on a possible peace in Ukraine and the future of NATO.
“The new United States national security strategy that we saw last week confirms that we are on the right track here.”
Friedrich Merz
«We will do this as a united and strong Europe. Keeping this Europe together even under pressure and not letting anything or anyone divide it is more important than ever. We need a united, strong Europe like never before,” said Merz.
The German head of government also said: “The new national security strategy of the United States, which we saw last week, confirms to us that we are on the right track here.”
Chancellor expects tomahawks in Germany
However, Merz expects the USA to begin stationing long-range weapons in Germany next year as planned. “At the moment I have no reason to doubt the agreements we have made with the United States of America in the NATO alliance,” he said. “There is no announcement and no steps towards dissolving the mutual security promise we made to each other.”
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) launches a Tomahawk land-attack missile in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, April 7, 2017.Image: AP/US Navy
Merz responded with these sentences to the question of whether, given the publication of the new US security strategy, he was worried that the US government could withdraw its commitment to station Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany again. This is about an agreement that was made with the government of then US President Joe Biden in July 2024.
Rutte: USA stands by its commitment
It envisages that from 2026 onwards the USA will again station medium-range weapons with conventional warheads in Germany that can reach as far as Russia. These will include Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, SM-6 missiles and newly developed hypersonic weapons.
“We know that we have to do a lot more to ensure our security in Europe than in the past.”
Friedrich Merz
The government of US President Donald Trump has not yet made a clear public statement about whether it wants to implement the agreements as planned. In a security strategy published last week, the US goal is for the Europeans to assume primary responsibility for its defense in the future.
Merz said on this topic: “We know that we have to do a lot more for our security in Europe than in the past.” The US government rightly points this out. Rutte said of the new security strategy that it is clear that the USA continues to feel committed to Europe and Europe’s security. “The USA stands by its commitment to NATO,” he said. (sda/dpa)