He pointed Tuesday to the danger from Russian President Vladimir "Putin's war of aggression against Europe — it is a war against Europe and not just a war against Ukraine's territorial integrity." He pointed to suspected Russian sabotage and disinformation in Europe.
Merz said the prospective German government's move should be "the first step toward a new European defense community," which could include countries outside the European Union such as Britain and Norway.
The Social Democrats' co-leader, Lars Klingbeil, said that "Europe stands today next to an aggressive Russia on one side and an unpredictable United States of America on the other side." He said he favors doing everything to maintain "indispensable" trans-Atlantic cooperation, but "we must now do our homework in Europe — we must become stronger, we must take care of our own security."