BERLIN – Germany's next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said he would travel to Paris and Warsaw as soon as possible and coordinate closely with both capitals to counter Donald Trump.
In an interview with German tabloid Bild published on Sunday, Merz outlined his foreign policy plans for his first days in power, which are expected to begin on May 8.
“I… will go immediately to Paris and very quickly to Warsaw,” he said.
Germany's new leader said it was important for Berlin to “work very well and very quickly together” with the French government and to cooperate “on an equal footing” with Poland.
Merz, a Christian Democrat (CDU), broke his self-imposed silence by agreeing to form a coalition government with the Social Democrats (SPD) and the CDU's sister party, the Bavarian Christian Democrats (CSU).
Early visits to Germany's largest neighbours in both the east and west have traditionally been high on the agenda for new German chancellors. But incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD has been accused of neglecting close ties with his allies.
Merz suggested he would reverse that trend, particularly in dealing with controversial US President Donald Trump.
“I will only go to Washington after I have received a common opinion and position from European partners on decisive issues,” Merz said in an interview with Bild.
He named France, Poland, the European Commission and the UK as his main interlocutors before meeting with Trump.
This points to plans to return to informal coordination with European heavyweights, including non-EU countries, rather than working through EU institutions.
“A country at war” cannot join the EU
Merz also cooled hopes for Ukraine's rapid accession to the EU and NATO in an interview with Handelsblatt, a German business publication, published on Sunday .
Ukraine is “a European country at war, and a country at war cannot become a member of NATO or a member of the European Union,” Merz said, reiterating the cautious stance he took during the election campaign earlier this year.
The CDU manifesto remained highly ambiguous about Ukraine's future in NATO, although it openly expressed support for its accession to the EU.
“Ukraine has the status of a candidate for the European Union, and this opens the way for it to membership in the European Union… but a country that is at war cannot become a member of NATO,” Merz said.
This article has been updated.
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