Decades of ‘Pax Americana’ over – Germany’s Merz

The era of ‘Pax Americana’ is over for Europe, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said, adding that the global economy and political order are undergoing a “tectonic shift” in centers of power worldwide.

The term ‘Pax Americana’ (American Peace) describes the transatlantic order that emerged after 1945 and was institutionalized through NATO, with the US as Europe’s primary security guarantor and leading military power.

Speaking at the Christian Social Union (CSU) party convention in Munich on Saturday, Merz urged Europeans to prepare for a “fundamental change in the transatlantic relationship.”

“The decades of the Pax Americana are largely over for us in Europe and for us in Germany as well. It no longer exists in the way we knew it,” he said. “Americans are now very, very firmly pursuing their own interests.”

The chancellor pointed to changes in tariff policy under US President Donald Trump, which led to a trade deal between Brussels and Washington that many criticized as disadvantageous for the EU.

Merz said shifting US priorities mean the EU must focus more on its own competitiveness and defense. He reiterated claims of the “Russian threat,” arguing that continued support for Ukraine and deeper European unity – which includes former EU member the UK – should remain central to foreign and security policy.

Relations between the US and EU have been strained since Trump’s return to office, with disputes over trade, defense spending, digital regulation, and the Ukraine conflict.

Merz’s remarks followed the release of Trump’s new National Security Strategy, which criticizes the EU’s political and cultural direction, embraces an ‘America First’ doctrine, calls for an end to NATO expansion, and urges “strategic stability” with Russia through a Ukraine ceasefire. The response in the EU was largely negative, with Merz calling the document’s statements on Europe “unacceptable.”

Russia has long dismissed claims that it is a threat to the EU as “nonsense” used to distract Europeans from domestic problems and justify inflated military budgets. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that Germany under Merz is showing “clear signs of re-Nazification.”