"The whole world is watching Germany these days. We have a task — in the European Union, and in the world — that goes far beyond the borders of our own country and the well-being of our own people."

Those were the words of conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz in the German Bundestag as he sought to justify taking on massive new debts — a motion that was then approved.

Merz believes the additional funds will be essential for dealing with the security and foreign policy challenges the government will face.

Here is an overview of the most significant challenges:

For ten years, Friedrich Merz was Chairman of the Atlantik-Brücke — a non-partisan organization for the cultivation of American-German relations.

However, his belief in a close German-American partnership has been badly shaken ever since Donald Trump entered his second term of office. "I am shocked by Donald Trump," Merz said after Trump blamed Ukraine for the war. He said he was appalled by Trump's and Vice President JD Vance's public humiliation of the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the White House.

Germany was already in bad standing with Trump while

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