"For me, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that step by step we can really achieve independence from the US" on defence issues, Merz said.
Germany's conservative election winner Friedrich Merz said Europe must boost its own defence capabilities amid rising tensions between the US and Europe over Ukraine and NATO funding. 
"For me, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that step by step we can really achieve independence from the US" on defence issues, Merz said. 
"After Donald Trump's statements over the last week, it is clear that Americans are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe," he said in a televised debate with other leading candidates after the election. 
Merz, the leader of the CDU/CSU alliance, said he had "no illusions about what will happen in America." 
"I'm very curious to see what happens between now and the NATO summit at the end of June," he said. 
But he added that it was questionable "whether we will still be talking about NATO in its current form or whether we will have to create an independent European defence capability much more quickly". 
NATO chief Mark Rutte congratulated Merz in a post on X and told him he "looks forward to working with you at this crucial moment for our common security." 
"It is vital that Europe increases its defence spending and your leadership will be key," Rutte said. 
Merz also reiterated his condemnation of "the recent interference in the German election campaign by Elon Musk". The US tech billionaire and key Trump ally has strongly backed the far-right and Moscow-friendly Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. 
"The interventions from Washington have been no less dramatic and brazen than the interventions we have seen from Moscow, so we are under enormous pressure from two sides," Merz said. | BGNES