Germany faces ‘fundamental’ issues this autumn, Merz says, as he warns against ‘dictated peace’ in Ukraine
Opening the debate in the Bundestag, chancellor Friedrich Merz sets out the stakes this autumn as he says Germany faces decisions “not about details, but about very fundamental issues” that will define its future.
“We must a sober look at the reality in order to choose the right path for our country,” he says.
He stresses that “our freedom is under threat” with growing “sense of insecurity,” with Germany’s economic model also “under pressure” from “a new form of protectionism.”
He also warns against “political forces at home and abroad” questioning social cohesion and undermining German democracy.
On security, he begins by saying that the Russian invasion of Ukraine “has a very concrete impact on our lives,” and stresses: “We want this war to end.”
But he concedes that “there is a reason to fear it will continue for some time.”
Merz stresses that “ending it at the expense of Ukraine’s political sovereignty and territorial integrity is out of the question,” and warns that “a dictated peace” could “only encourage Putin to seek his next target.”
He then condemns recent Russian drone incursions into Poland and Romania.
“Putin has long been testing the limits,” he says, but stresses:
We will not allow this.
Key events
Main suspect in Madeleine McCann case released from German prison
In other news from Germany, the main suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann was released from a German prison after serving out a seven-year sentence for an unrelated sex crime, Reuters reported.
German prosecutors first named Christian Brückner a suspect in 2020, when he was already serving the sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same part of Portugal’s Algarve region where McCann went missing.
“I can confirm that he was released at 9:15 local time, accompanied by a police escort,” said Marcell Farbowski, spokesperson of the prison in Sehnde, adding that Brückner had been driven away by his lawyer.
Reuters noted that Brückner’s lawyer denies any connection with the McCann case. He did not immediately respond to a request to comment on his client’s release.
Brückner, 49, has convictions for child abuse and drug trafficking in addition to the rape of the woman, who has since died.
Der Spiegel said Brückner’s release was tied to very strict conditions: his passport has been cancelled, he will wear an electronic tag and must declare a place of residence that he cannot leave without permission.
Reuters said that police in Britain, Germany and Portugal, who have identified Brueckner as their main suspect, have long sought evidence to link him conclusively to the case. Portuguese and German police spent four days digging for evidence in the Algarve in June.
AfD’s Weidel tells Merz ‘citizens are growing impatient’ as she attacks him on migration, foreign, defence policy
Speaking before Merz, AfD’s leader Alice Weidel attacked him by saying that “the citizens are growing impatient,” and accusing him of “complacency” and “denial of reality.”
She paid tribute to US conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk killed in the US.
She also heavily focused on migration, talking about “the fatal ‘we can do it’ line of his party colleague Angela Merkel” in 2015, and its consequences for today’s Germany, as she called for “a real turnaround” in approach.
“Close the borders completely and without exception. Reject illegal immigrants without valid papers and those not entitled to asylum, without exception. Naturalisation after ten years, at the earliest,” she listed her policies.
She then accused Merz of “breaking every election promise” on energy, taxation, and public finances.
In a particularly bruising line, she said that faced with “plummeting approval ratings,” Merz was pretending to be a global leader alongside France’s Macron and Britain’s Starmer “whom his own people no longer want in office” in the “coalition of losers, with their backs to the wall and playing with fire.”
She claimed they were “sabotaging” Trump’s plans to end the war in Ukraine but urging Zelenskyy to resist making concessions, “conjuring up the bogeyman of an imminent Russian attack” to justify their spending plans.
Remember: as mentioned in the opening post, this is the leader of the party that is top of the polls, looking at the YouGov poll this morning (8:46).
Merz also talks about the need to “establish a new consensus” on welfare policies, saying “some reforms are inevitable” if Germany is “to be able to fulfil the social promises we want to make in the future.”
He hints this would cover changes to the pension system and other elements, including unemployment benefits.
He then makes his regular points about the need for a new “realistic” energy policy, and the government’s “economic reform agenda” to increase productivity, reduce bureaucracy, and push to modernise the state.
Coming to conclusions, he once again stresses the urgency to move and resolve “longstanding problems” the country is facing.
‘We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we do not have to defend ourselves,’ Merz says
Merz repeats his regular line on defence as he says:
We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we do not have to defend ourselves.
But he also makes a broader point about the importance of modernising the country, its civil protection plans, and the army.
He also talks about trade, including looking for new partners “in an increasingly complex world.”
He says that “the separation between domestic and foreign policy is simply outdated,” as the government’s actions abroad “serve to preserve freedom, peace and prosperity at home.”
He also mentions progress on his government’s mission to lower the number of asylum applications in response to growing migratory pressures.
Morning opening: What can UK get out of Trump?
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump is now in Britain and set to begin the first full day of his second state visit.
While most of today’s events are ceremonial, there’s a very long list of things that the UK government will be hoping to discuss and achieve during his stay in England, including talks on trade, defence and security, Ukraine, and the Middle East, to name just a few.
But the visit is already off to a rocky start after four people have been arrested after images of him alongside deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were projected on to Windsor Castle, where Trump is set to be hosted by King Charles, with separate group of protesters also gathering in the area.
Meanwhile in Germany, the Bundestag is back from the summer break this week and set to hold a general debate on current affairs.
After a rocky start for his government, chancellor Friedrich Merz will be hoping for a better start to the political autumn.
But the pressure is very much on as the far-right Alternative für Deutschland has for the first time come top in the latest YouGov poll this morning at 27%, ahead of the governing CDU at 26%, and the junior coalition partner SPD at 15%.
I will follow the debate for key lines.
Lots of things for us to cover today.
It’s Wednesday, 17 September 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Germany faces ‘fundamental’ issues this autumn, Merz says, as he warns against ‘dictated peace’ in Ukraine
Opening the debate in the Bundestag, chancellor Friedrich Merz sets out the stakes this autumn as he says Germany faces decisions “not about details, but about very fundamental issues” that will define its future.
“We must a sober look at the reality in order to choose the right path for our country,” he says.
He stresses that “our freedom is under threat” with growing “sense of insecurity,” with Germany’s economic model also “under pressure” from “a new form of protectionism.”
He also warns against “political forces at home and abroad” questioning social cohesion and undermining German democracy.
On security, he begins by saying that the Russian invasion of Ukraine “has a very concrete impact on our lives,” and stresses: “We want this war to end.”
But he concedes that “there is a reason to fear it will continue for some time.”
Merz stresses that “ending it at the expense of Ukraine’s political sovereignty and territorial integrity is out of the question,” and warns that “a dictated peace” could “only encourage Putin to seek his next target.”
He then condemns recent Russian drone incursions into Poland and Romania.
“Putin has long been testing the limits,” he says, but stresses:
We will not allow this.
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