{"id":139511,"date":"2025-05-09T09:10:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T06:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/news\/worldhigh-expectations-eu-looks-to-merz-for-boost-in-tough-times\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:10:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T06:10:24","slug":"worldhigh-expectations-eu-looks-to-merz-for-boost-in-tough-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/news\/worldhigh-expectations-eu-looks-to-merz-for-boost-in-tough-times\/","title":{"rendered":"World\u2018High expectations\u2019: EU looks to Merz for boost in tough times"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mp_wrapper\">\n  <div class=\"mepr-unauthorized-message\">\n    <p>You are unauthorized to view this page.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mepr-login-form-wrap\">\n            \n<div class=\"mp_wrapper mp_login_form\">\n                  <!-- mp-login-form-start -->     <form name=\"mepr_loginform\" id=\"mepr_loginform\" class=\"mepr-form\" action=\"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/login-2\/\" method=\"post\">\n            <div class=\"mp-form-row mepr_username\">\n        <div class=\"mp-form-label\">\n                              <label for=\"user_login\">Username<\/label>\n        <\/div>\n        <input type=\"text\" name=\"log\" id=\"user_login\" value=\"\" \/>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mp-form-row mepr_password\">\n        <div class=\"mp-form-label\">\n          <label for=\"user_pass\">Password<\/label>\n          <div class=\"mp-hide-pw\">\n            <input type=\"password\" name=\"pwd\" id=\"user_pass\" value=\"\" \/>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"button mp-hide-pw hide-if-no-js\" data-toggle=\"0\" aria-label=\"Show password\">\n              <span class=\"dashicons dashicons-visibility\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n            <\/button>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n            <div>\n        <label><input name=\"rememberme\" type=\"checkbox\" id=\"rememberme\" value=\"forever\" \/> Remember Me<\/label>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mp-spacer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n      <div class=\"submit\">\n        <input type=\"submit\" name=\"wp-submit\" id=\"wp-submit\" class=\"button-primary mepr-share-button \" value=\"Log In\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect_to\" value=\"\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139511\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mepr_process_login_form\" value=\"true\" \/>\n        <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"mepr_is_login_page\" value=\"false\" \/>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/form>\n    <div class=\"mp-spacer\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n    <div class=\"mepr-login-actions\">\n        <a\n          href=\"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/login-2\/?action=forgot_password\"\n          title=\"Click here to reset your password\"\n        >\n          Forgot Password        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n\n      \n    <!-- mp-login-form-end --> \n  <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"smart_content_wrapper\">\n<p>Germany\u2019s Friedrich Merz makes his maiden trip to Brussels Friday with expectations riding high that the changing of the guard in Berlin can bring fresh momentum to Europe at a time of dizzying global challenges. After back-to-back trips to Paris and Warsaw signalling his intent to cement ties with both neighbours, Merz\u2019s swift visit to the EU capital shows his resolve to restore Germany\u2019s role in Europe following months of political paralysis. \u201cIt was high time,\u201d summed up one EU diplomat. \u201cWe are waiting for, and we need, a strong Germany, one that\u2019s able to tackle the tough work ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Germany\u2019s European Union comeback is not expected to be all plain-sailing. Elected on a pledge to clamp down on migration, one of the conservative chancellor\u2019s first steps in office was a unilateral move to reject most asylum seekers at Germany\u2019s borders \u2014 to the notable displeasure of Poland. But it is no secret many in Brussels will be glad to see the back of Merz\u2019s predecessor, Olaf Scholz, after what was often seen as an underwhelming tenure at the helm of Europe\u2019s largest economy, from 2021 to 2025. \u201cGermany under the leadership of Olaf Scholz had a pretty negative reputation,\u201d said Guntram Wolff, of the Bruegel think tank. \u201cScholz would always call Washington first,\u201d he said. \u201cI think there is hope that Friedrich Merz will be more turned towards the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have very high expectations of the German government,\u201d confirmed Finland\u2019s foreign minister, Elina Valtonen. In an interview upon taking office this week, the chancellor \u2014 who speaks fondly of his youthful years as an EU lawmaker from 1989 to 1994 \u2014 promised to be a \u201cvery European\u201d leader. Merz will be spelling out his priorities in a succession of press conferences on Friday, with EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, and NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte.<\/p>\n<p>But he has already made them clear: supporting new trade partnerships, including with the United States, striking a balance between EU climate action and support for industry, curbing migration, and most crucially, bolstering Europe\u2019s defence capability. Brussels is looking to Germany to play a key role in driving the continent\u2019s rearmament \u2014 faced with US disengagement and war on its doorstep in Ukraine. The chancellor\u2019s visit will come as Vladimir Putin gathers a cohort of allied leaders for a World War II victory parade in Moscow \u2014 underscoring the growing threat posed by Russia on Europe\u2019s eastern rim.<\/p>\n<p>Merz and his Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners have already affected a sea change in fiscally conservative Germany, changing the constitution to enable mass borrowing to upgrade the country\u2019s defence and infrastructure. In that spirit, he has given strong backing to steps by Brussels to free up hundreds of billions in additional defence spending by member states, including by relaxing the bloc\u2019s fiscal rules. Merz\u2019s most closely watched meeting will be with Commission chief von der Leyen \u2014 a fellow German conservative who has described the incoming chancellor as a \u201cfriend\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey speak the same language,\u201d summed up Wolff. \u201cThey come from the same party, they have ideas in common, a shared background, they grew up in a period of European integration.\u201d The two are expected to collaborate closely on the critical matter of trade \u2014 where Germany\u2019s export-driven economy is especially vulnerable to President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs campaign. Yet that does not rule out the scope for disagreements \u2014 particularly on immigration, where von der Leyen advocates EU-wide action and Merz has so far taken a go-it-alone national approach.<\/p>\n<p>Source:<a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaljournal.com\/world\/high-expectations-eu-looks-to-merz-for-boost-in-tough-times\/article\"> DJ<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/vastuullisuusuutiset.fi\/fi\/vauen\/worldhigh-expectations-eu-looks-to-merz-for-boost-in-tough-times\/\">World\u2018High expectations\u2019: EU looks to Merz for boost in tough times<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/vastuullisuusuutiset.fi\/fi\">Vastuullisuusuutiset.fi<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[274,1038,18751,606,607,608],"class_list":["post-139511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-eu","tag-germany","tag-merz","tag-vau_viikkokatsaus","tag-vauen","tag-vaufien"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139511\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tietopankki.crnet.fi\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}