Merz says era of ‘Pax Americana’ came to end
The term ‘Pax Americana’ refers to the transatlantic order established after 1945 and institutionalized through NATO, with the United States serving as Europe’s primary security guarantor and dominant military force.
Addressing the Christian Social Union (CSU) party convention in Munich on Saturday, Merz urged Europe to brace for a “fundamental change in the transatlantic relationship.”
“The decades of the Pax Americana are largely over for us in Europe and for us in Germany as well. It no longer exists in the way we knew it,” he said. “Americans are now very, very firmly pursuing their own interests.”
Merz pointed to shifts in US tariff policies under President Donald Trump, which produced a trade deal between Brussels and Washington that many criticized as unfavorable for the EU. He argued that changing American priorities require Europe to focus more on its own economic competitiveness and defense capabilities.
He also cited the “Russian threat,” emphasizing that continued support for Ukraine and deeper European unity—including collaboration with the UK—must remain central to European foreign and security policy.
Relations between the US and EU have been tense since Trump returned to office, with disputes over trade, defense spending, digital regulation, and the conflict in Ukraine. Merz’s comments came shortly after the release of Trump’s new National Security Strategy, which critiques the EU’s political and cultural direction, promotes an ‘America First’ agenda, calls for an end to NATO expansion, and advocates “strategic stability” with Russia through a Ukraine ceasefire. Merz labeled the document’s statements regarding Europe as “unacceptable.”
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