![\"BERLIN,](\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2213593975-1-640x480.jpg\")
By Kurt Zindulka<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his first address to the Bundestag parliament on Wednesday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to rearm Germany so that the country would have the \u201cstrongest\u201d military force in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following years of chronic underinvestment in defence and relying on the United States for protection, Chancellor Merz told lawmakers that \u201cstrengthening the Bundeswehr is our top priority\u201d and will make \u201cevery effort to continue to achieve the greatest possible agreement between the European and American partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this context, Merz promised to expand Germany\u2019s military forces \u201cinto the strongest conventional army in Europe,\u201d Die Welt<\/em> reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior to coming into power this month, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, Merz, negotiated a trillion euro spending package with his now coalition partners, the left-wing Social Democrats and the Greens. Around half of the money will be devoted to defence spending, while the rest will be spend on infrastructure and so-called green energy projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was hastily agreed to amid growing pressure from the Trump administration in Washington for Germany and other European powers to finally pay for their own defence after years of failing to meet their NATO spending requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are not a war party, but we are not uninvolved third parties either. We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we don\u2019t have to defend ourselves. Strength deters aggression, weakness invites aggression,\u201d Merz said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are many young people in our country who are willing to take on this responsibility\u2026 we want and will promote that,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Germany finally met its NATO spending requirement of 2 per cent of GDP last year, following an emergency investment of 100 billion euros by the previous government, the Bundeswehr remains in poor condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After decades of neglect, mostly under the leadership of Angela Merkel and her former Defence chief, now-EU President Ursula von der Leyen, and sending billions in arms to Ukraine, the Bundeswehr badly needs fresh investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n