Merz sets E5 priorities Defence, Ukraine and Iran

Jun 25, 2025

In his complete June 24 Berlin opening statement, Friedrich Merz welcomes Macron, Meloni, Starmer and Tusk for preparations for the NATO summit in Ankara. He thanks Starmer for their cooperation and explicitly regrets his coming departure from office. He says Rutte joined the working session from Washington and that he will brief Trump, Erdoğan and other partners. Merz presents five messages: allied unity; a stronger European pillar and implementation of the Hague commitments, including raising defence spending to 3.5% and Germany's aim to reach that level in 2029; joint European and transatlantic defence policy and industrial work on air defence, standoff weapons, AI and other systems; a proposed firm European NATO funding commitment to Kyiv, sustained support and a call for Russian peace talks; and support for the U.S.–Iran framework and follow-up negotiations in Bürgenstock, with a German contribution conditional on prerequisites being met. These are his proposals, plans and assessments, rather than completed summit decisions or a verified deployment.

At the June 25, 2025 Hague summit, NATO allies adopt a 5%-of-GDP annual defence and security-related spending goal. In his October 1, 2026 acceptance speech, Rutte recalls the agreed benchmark and the willingness to fund it, and credits Germany's preceding May support as leadership toward the Hague outcome. His retrospective does not explain the phase-in timetable or component categories; it does not establish immediate compliance by every ally or a new October 2026 agreement. Phoenix's German-interpreted coverage of the same October 1 acceptance speech also recalls the 2025 Hague spending target, with less precise retrospective timing than the English original. The interpretation is retained in its separate source story 4916 rather than replaced by the original's wording. In the earlier June 24, 2026 Oval Office exchange, Trump recalls an agreed 5% benchmark, places the agreement about six months earlier and says most allies are not paying it. Rutte replies that allies agreed to a phase-in because of absorption limits, cites Germany's projected spending and other countries, and says most are doing it. Their retrospective timing and compliance judgments remain attributed. Trump's relative-date recollection does not change the June 25, 2025 Hague adoption date, and the exchange announces no new pledge. In the June 24 Berlin statements, Merz describes implementing the Hague commitment through a 3.5% defence-spending target and Germany's aim to reach it in 2029. Meloni recalls the commitments' broader strategic-resilience dimension, including data protection and borders. These national implementation statements complement Rutte's retrospective of the combined 5% benchmark rather than establish a second adoption. The original Hague declaration distinguishes core defence from additional defence-and-security-related investment; the 3.5% and 5% references do not describe rival new alliance totals.