Military historian Sönke Neitzel has criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron for failing to fulfill their historical obligations toward Europe. In an interview with Der Spiegel, Neitzel stated that he cannot perceive a clear strategy among them for a unified European security and defense policy. “What frustrates me is that I cannot see that neither Macron nor Friedrich Merz, nor any other head of state or government, has a plan for how we are actually going to move forward,” he said. He described progress in European defense integration as merely “marginal.”
Neitzel contrasted the current situation with the past, noting that leaders like Helmut Kohl, Helmut Schmidt, and Konrad Adenauer, alongside their French counterparts, knew where they wanted to take Europe after the Second World War. He recalled that if they had asked Helmut Kohl during the mid-1980s what the plan was, the chancellor would have had one.
He lamented the shortage of such committed European leaders at the present time, arguing that “the basic problem is that we currently have too few convinced Europeans serving as heads of state and government.” Instead of promoting integration, Neitzel observes a phase of “renationalization, particularly in defense.” Military procurement remains nationally managed, with every government focused on protecting its domestic industries and jobs. “But if all 27 countries do this, naturally we will not come together; instead, everyone will push forward individually.”
