Merz and Trump: A golden frame for new Germany-USA volumes!

Merz and Trump: A golden frame for new Germany-USA volumes!

Washington, USA - Chancellor Friedrich Merz received Donald Trump on June 5, 2025 in the Oval Office and received a lot of praise from the former US president. In a symbolic act, Merz Trump presented a golden framed facsimile of his grandfather's birth certificate, who was born in the Palatinate in 1869 and emigrated to the USA at the age of 16. Trump thanked him warmly and promised to place the gift in a "honorary place" reports the FAZ .

In the run -up to the meeting, there were concerns about possible discrepancies between Germany and Trump, but both sides emphasized the desire for a good relationship. Trump congratulated Merz on his choice and described him as a "very respected man". Merz '"difficulty" of Trump was particularly positive, which the ex-president interpreted as a sign of strength.

defense and Ukraine in focus

In the course of the conversation, defense spending also came up. Trump praised that Germany increased its expenses for defense, and Merz was open to Trump's goal of increasing defense spending to five percent of GDP. This is done against the background of a special EU, in which the heads of state and government exchanged a common defense policy and the support of the Ukraine The “Rearm Europe” design of the European Commission provides for the mobilization of almost 800 billion euros to increase defense spending in Europe. CSU European Member of Ferber emphasizes that Europe has to become more independent of the United States. Nevertheless, the financing of this upgrade remains unclear, which is a challenge. While some countries are already opening their expenses, such as the desired 2 percent GDP in Germany by 2024, there could be a gap of 30 billion euros in particular from 2027.

In this context, Merz also addressed Germany's role in the nuclear participation with European nuclear powers. Meanwhile, the EU plans to save savings of 22 billion euros annually in the event of joint development and procurement. Despite these projects, most EU countries spend less than two percent of their GDP for defense; Only five countries had achieved this in 2022 As international politics reports .

The situation in Ukraine and international cooperation

The tensions between the US government and Ukraine were also an issue because Military Aid was temporarily suspended. A new meeting between the Ukrainian government and the USA is being prepared, while Macron is planning to provide allies under the nuclear protective sign of France reports Deutschlandfunk . In conclusion, it remains to be said that the talks between Merz and Trump are an important signal for future transatlantic cooperation as well as for military and political stability in Europe.