Friedrich Merz

Unlike his predecessor, the Chancellor is enthusiastic about European policy and has ambitious plans: He wants to strengthen the EU economically and politically. The CDU politician is seeking alliances with Emmanuel Macron, Donald Tusk and Giorgia Meloni in order to correct perceived excesses in the Green Deal. Compared to Macron and Tusk, Merz is firmly in the saddle in terms of domestic policy. So far, he has managed to find compromises with his coalition partner, the SPD, on important EU dossiers and avoid German votes.