Foreign and security policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter (CDU) has called for a strategic overhaul, proposing that Europe develop an alternative to NATO, while simultaneously criticizing Germany’s historical handling of its relationship with Russia.
Speaking to the news magazine “Focus” the CDU Member of Parliament stated that it is time for the alliance to “say goodbye to the Americans as alliance partners”. Kiesewetter argues that Europe must now construct a replacement for the transatlantic alliance, even by integrating states that are neither members of the EU nor of NATO. Drawing on insights from the “Machtmenschen” podcast, he suggested it would be beneficial for Europe’s security and for an “European NATO” to be organized with inclusion from countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, Ukraine, and Turkey.
However, Kiesewetter also leveled a sharp critique at Germany, arguing that the nation has made major failures in its approach to Russia, labeling the Federal Republic “the mentally weakest country in Europe”. In response, senior party member and rival Friedrich Merz (CDU) publicly criticized Kiesewetter for failing to provide Ukraine with the Taurus cruise missile system.