Merz rivalry with von der Leyen heating up – Bloomberg
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is seeking to claw back decision-making power from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing diplomats familiar with the matter.
Merz, increasingly critical of Brussels, wants Berlin to have greater influence over issues directly affecting EU members, according to one of the sources.
He has already opposed von der Leyen’s proposals for new EU taxes and her plan to send peacekeepers to Ukraine, while also clashing with her over a tariff agreement with the US and climate regulations.
“We must now put a stick in the wheels of this machine in Brussels,” Merz told business leaders on Friday, Bloomberg noted.
Ahead of an informal EU leaders’ summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday, he again pressed for a “fundamental correction” of what he described as excessive regulation. “It is simply too much,” he said, as quoted by the German Press Agency.
The European Commission has introduced several measures to cut red tape this year, including the Defense Readiness Omnibus, aimed at streamlining EU defense market procedures. The initiative is part of von der Leyen’s broader effort to raise up to €800 billion ($938 billion) in investments for weapons and ammunition procurement by 2030.
