German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Europe wants to maintain the NATO alliance, saying that Europe and the United States have the shared goal of stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
“We are really willing to keep this alliance alive for the future,” Merz said at a press conference on May 9 alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
“We know that there are some differences. We know that we are seeing challenges, all of us, but our final goal is to bring this conflict to an end and to guarantee that Iran is not able to produce nuclear weapons.
“And this goal is a common goal between America and Europe.”
The German chancellor made the comments amid ongoing tensions between the United States and European NATO partners over the future of the defense alliance, and in the wake of allies’ initial reluctance to lend support to the U.S.–Israeli war against Iran.
The Trump administration has raised questions about the United States’ role in NATO. President Donald Trump said last month that he was considering pulling out of NATO, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned the purpose of a defense alliance in which support appeared to go only one way—defending Europe—without reciprocal support for the United States in its security efforts.
Troop Drawdown in Germany
Tensions between Germany and the United States over defense have been high since Merz said last month that Washington had been “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership over attempts to hold peace talks to end the war. Trump disputed Merz’s claim, and he suggested that the German chancellor stop interfering in the Middle East conflict and focus on domestic issues.
Last week, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul suggested that there was no rift between the two leaders, saying that the relationship between Merz and Trump is “very solid.”
Wadephul also said that Germany was “absolutely behind” the United States in the Iran war and that what Washington is doing is “to prevent” the Iranian regime from becoming “a nuclear-weaponized power.”
Earlier this month, Merz played down talk of tensions with the United States, after the U.S. Department of War announced on May 1 that it would be cutting its presence in Germany by 5,000 soldiers.
“We’re going to cut way down,“ Trump told reporters on May 2. ”And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
In an interview with German public broadcaster ARD that aired on May 3, Merz said, “I have to accept that the American president has a different view on these issues than we do.”
When asked whether the troop drawdown was linked to the dispute over Iran, Merz said, “There is no connection.”
Trump has previously spoken about reducing troop numbers in Germany, saying in June 2020 that the deployment was expensive and unfair to American taxpayers.
On May 9, Merz further said that the main issue was not troop numbers but “unity of purpose” and that it was in the United States’ interest to have a strong European component of NATO.
“We are remaining interested and highly interested in having the American army and the American military support on our side,” he said. “So this is something we are having in common and we are trying to achieve that currently.”
Europe Stepping Up on NATO
In recent weeks, European leaders have renewed calls for their allies on the continent to take on a greater role in NATO, particularly as the United States pivots toward other security priorities, both domestically and globally.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on May 4 called for a “stronger European element in NATO,” suggesting that the continent should not continue to rely so heavily on the United States.
“We’ve been behind the curve for too long: over dependencies, over reliance, and assumptions about the world that we live in—they’ve gone,” he said.
NATO allies in June 2025 agreed to raise their defense spending targets from 2 percent of gross domestic product to 5 percent by 2035, 3.5 percent of which will be spent on core defense, such as troops, arms, and equipment.
However, Poland said last week that allies need to meet the 5 percent target much sooner.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on May 6 at the Defense 24 Days conference in Warsaw that there was “no point in waiting until 2035.”
“It must be achieved by 2030, because later may be too late,” he said.
The calls for Europe to do more to secure its own defense follow the United States’ announcement of a reorientation of its defense and security priorities.
The Pentagon on Jan. 23 released its National Defense Strategy, which outlines the U.S. plan to prioritize homeland defense, including by “defending America’s interests throughout the Western Hemisphere.”
It also states that the United States would encourage partners in other parts of the world, including Europe, to take primary responsibility for their own defense “with critical but limited support from U.S. forces.”
Reuters and Chris Summers contributed to this report.
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