BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Green party leader Britta Haßelmann has warned Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) not to lose sight of Ukraine in the face of many foreign policy challenges. The fact that Merz only expressed solidarity with Ukraine in one sentence in his government statement gave her no hope “that this won’t just sit on the agenda,” she said in the Bundestag.
As opposition leader, Merz called for more support, stronger weapons systems such as the Taurus cruise missile and sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet every week. Now, however, the Union represents the government faction, “which has warned us every week to do more for Ukraine,” said the Green politician. A humanitarian catastrophe is looming there. “Where is your commitment?” she asked Merz.
Praise and criticism of Merz’s reaction against Trump
One cannot turn a blind eye to the developments in the USA initiated by US President Donald Trump, said Haßelmann. She agreed with Merz’s criticism of Trump’s statements that the USA never needed NATO troops in Afghanistan
– but criticized the fact that the Chancellor included the US President
not mentioned by name. “It was Trump. Clearly state what is happening – that’s what this situation is about,” said the Green party leader.
Haßelmann once again admitted that the votes of Green MPs in the EU Parliament for a review of the Mercosur trade agreement had been “a wrong signal at the wrong time”. However, 43 MPs from the European People’s Party (EPP) group, which also includes the Union parties, and 34 MPs from the Social Democratic Group also voted in favor of the review. Merz and Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn (CDU) should therefore also “grab their own noses” when they point the finger at others, demanded Haßelmann./nkl/DP/jha
