Europe should no longer sell itself short to the US: Merz

Berlin [Germany], March 19: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on the European Union to use all available means to assert itself to counter US dominance.
A massive shift in global geopolitics has forced Europe to "identify its interests and, at the same time, identify the power potential needed to ensure those interests are upheld," Merz said during a government statement in the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag. "We learn that others depend on us too, not just the other way round.
And we learn that we can - indeed, must - make use of this," the German leader said ahead of Thursday's EU summit. But he also reiterated his demand that Europe needs to act united and take charge of its own security and the defence of its freedom in order to be able to prevail in a new world order dominated by superpowers including the US.
Merz said he had noticed an increased willingness among European partners to use the bloc's available "power potential," not least "to ensure that rules and fairness prevail among the nations of the world, to uphold them where possible, and to restore them where we can." The European Union should no longer sell itself short, he said, noting that the bloc is home to 100 million residents more than the US.
Germany would have advised the United States not to attack Iran had it been consulted beforehand, Merz said on Wednesday.
Berlin continues to have "many questions" regarding the strategy behind the campaign launched by the US and Israel on February 28, Merz told the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, in Berlin.
"To this day, there is no convincing plan as to how this operation might succeed," he said. "Washington did not consult us and did not deem European assistance necessary," said Merz, , who has sharpened his rhetoric in recent days after initially failing to condemn the US-Israeli attacks which came during ongoing negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.
Source: Qatar Tribune