German Chancellor Merz says Russia’s effort to destabilize European societies is his biggest concern and Ukraine cannot be forced to surrender

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday that Russia’s efforts to destabilize European societies were a greater concern to him than Germany’s economy, the European Union, the U.S. or China, and warned that forcing Ukraine to surrender would amount to a defeat for Europe as a whole.

Merz made the remarks during the Berlin Global Dialogue on October 21, where he spoke about security, trade and Europe’s economic competitiveness.

“My biggest concern at the moment is not our economy, is not the European Union, is not America, is not China,” Merz said. “My biggest concern is the impact of Russia on our society and how they are succeeding in destabilizing our societies.”

He said Russian pressure extended beyond the battlefield in Ukraine to sabotage, disinformation and hybrid attacks against European countries. “A surrender, or even an unconditional surrender, for Ukraine is not an option, because this would be a surrender of all of us,” Merz said.

Germany’s military and intelligence agencies have recently raised their assessment of the Russian sabotage threat. German authorities have linked a series of incidents, including an attempted explosive-drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, to Russian military intelligence. Moscow has denied involvement.

On China, Merz said every EU member now runs a trade deficit with Beijing and put the bloc’s annual shortfall at well above €300 billion, or close to €1 billion a day. He blamed part of the imbalance on industrial overcapacity, subsidies and what he described as an artificially undervalued Chinese currency.

Merz rejected the idea that Europe was already in a trade war with China. “We are not looking for that,” he said, adding that the EU wanted fair trade but was prepared to defend its industries against practices it considered unfair.

He also argued that artificial intelligence could replace significant numbers of workers but said that prospect was one reason Germany needed to accelerate adoption of the technology rather than fall behind competitors.