Merz shows the way forward for Europe

Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz, who, in all likelihood, will be the next chancellor of Germany, is just as clear-eyed about the United States and NATO as French President Emmanuel Macron was in 2019.

"It is clear that this (the US) government does not care much about the fate of Europe," Merz said in a televised address on Sunday night.

In 2019, Macron had in an interview with The Economist mentioned "the brain death of NATO".

In the backdrop of a US focus on "America first" and at a time when US Vice-President JD Vance questions whether European values are worth defending while mentioning a "threat from within" at the Munich Security Conference, it is very likely that Europe's reliance on the US for security cannot continue for long.

That the US administration has given up its firm support of Ukraine and turned to Russia for bilateral negotiations while excluding Ukraine and the European Union from the talks reveals that the US cares little about Europe's security. The US is acting as if it had never encouraged Ukraine to lean on NATO and the West before the crisis broke out in 2022. For the US, only its own interests that matter; everything else is disposable.

Which is why Merz's idea of reshaping policies vis-à-vis security is worth cherishing for not only his own country but also the whole of Europe. It's clear that Europe needs to end its long dependence on the US, step up building its own defense capabilities, and even find an alternative to NATO if necessary.

That the White House has said nothing to counter Merz's remarks further necessitates it — after all, Europe is the home of Europeans, independent of the United States.