Merz and Macron: We're in danger

Speaking at an event marking the 35th anniversary of Germany’s reunification, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, both leaders warned that Europe must prepare to withstand massive political and economic changes across the globe.

“The centers of power in the world are shifting in a way not seen since the end of the Cold War,” said Merz. “The axis of autocratic states challenging the liberal order worldwide directly threatens Western democracies. That is why we must once again regain the ability to defend our freedom.”

Merz said that “the shine of what we in the West call liberal democracy is noticeably fading,” adding: “It is no longer certain that the world will orient itself toward us, that it will follow our values of liberal democracy.”

“New alliances of autocracies are forming against us and attacking liberal democracy as a way of life,” Merz said.

Recent global upheavals have hit Germany with particular force. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the erosion of the transatlantic alliance have compelled the country’s leaders to massively invest in rebuilding Germany’s relatively weak military. The energy shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the tariff wars under U.S. President Donald Trump have struck German industry especially hard.

Macron: “Degeneration of Democracy”

But Macron, speaking after Merz, echoed parts of the chancellor’s message, claiming that Europe is going through a “degeneration of democracy” due to attacks on multiple fronts — including from within.

“We are threatened from the outside. But we should not be naïve. From within, we are turning against ourselves; we are doubting our own democracy. Everywhere we see something happening to our democratic fabric. Democratic debate is turning into a debate of hatred,” he said.

Much of this degeneration, Macron argued, stems from online discourse on platforms controlled by American and Chinese companies.

“We are to blame… for having handed over our public democratic space to social networks owned by large American entrepreneurs and Chinese firms, whose interests have nothing to do with the survival and proper functioning of our democracy,” Macron said.

Both leaders stressed that Europe must build up its economic competitiveness in order to have the strength to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

“The global economic order is being rewritten, it is being reshaped,” Merz said. “Egoism is once again becoming more visible. And perhaps that is why we have become economically weaker, and why the social promises we once made to each other are today much harder to fulfill than they used to be.”

Merz called on Europe to “stand up to the new wave of protectionism in the world” by advancing new trade rules and seeking new markets.

“Europe must once again focus on its economic competitiveness,” he said.