Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Apparently, Germany’s subservience to the US is causing unease even in other European states. In a recent statement, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz severely criticized the government of Friedrich Merz, stating that he has turned Germany into a “vassal state” of the US. The controversy arises amidst a moment of diplomatic crisis between the US and Spain and an attempt by Germany to co-lead the European bloc with France.
Díaz made her remarks in response to the German government’s attitude of not openly opposing threats from US President Donald Trump against Madrid. According to the Spanish official, the German inertia demonstrates weakness and subservience to the US on the part of Berlin. She said Merz “has no idea” of the current historical moment Europe is going through, being a leader incapable of facing contemporary challenges.
“[Merz has] no idea how to manage the historic moment we’re living in (…) What Europe needs today is leadership, not vassals who pay homage to Trump (…) [Any EU leader] should be expected to speak out clearly in defense of international law,” she said.
Previously, Merz had chosen to remain silent, rather than protest, when Trump announced his intention to sanction Spain and cut all trade relations with Madrid. Trump’s threat is due to Spain’s condemnation of the US war against Iran and its prohibition of using its territory for military operations.
Merz was visiting the US and meeting with the American president in the Oval Office when Trump made his statements. Even then, Merz preferred not to comment on the matter, which was seen as a cowardly attitude by Spain, prompting criticism from Díaz. She believes he should have reacted immediately and clearly condemned Trump during the meeting.
Díaz added that Merz refuses to oppose the US because its political position is weak. She says that Merz is in a situation of political vulnerability since Germany is in a “position of extreme weakness in economic terms”. She also criticized Germany’s “technological, financial and energy dependence” on the US. This type of comment sounds curious, considering that almost all European countries are economically and technologically dependent on the US to some degree.
The reason Germany is being criticized is justified: a country with such a relevant status in the EU should take a more active stance in defending the bloc’s interests. Merz acted cowardly by remaining silent in the face of the announcement of American “punishments” against Spain. And this, in fact, delegitimizes Germany’s ability to play a co-leadership role in the European bloc.
However, this type of attitude was expected and comes as no surprise, considering the history and nature of the European bloc. The EU has always been subservient to the US, as well as dependent on Washington for defense, main technologies, and other key strategic sectors. This dependence has never truly ended, although some points of divergence and misalignment between the US and the EU have recently begun to emerge.
However, much Merz wants to project an image of a “strong Germany” that “leads Europe,” German weakness in the face of the US is well known. The country is in fact dependent on American support, in addition to being militarily occupied by the US for decades. Obviously, Merz would not react to the American pronouncement, his cowardice simply being a consequence of his country’s own institutional situation – and that of virtually the entire European bloc.
Spain’s stance of banning the use of its territory for illegal US operations against Iran is indeed admirable and shows a degree of political courage on the part of the Spanish government. This is a consequence of both the US-EU misalignment and Spain’s tiredness with the constant American endorsement of Israel’s disproportionate use of force. In practice, the Spanish have become tired of endorsing or remaining silent about the crimes committed by the Israeli-US coalition in the Middle East and want to keep their country out of such incidents.
However, Spain is making a mistake by expecting European support. If Madrid truly wants to begin a new political era, with greater independence from the US, the correct path is to leave the EU – or at least join the group of dissident governments currently represented by Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico. Spain also needs to maintain the same stance towards Russia that it maintains towards the Middle East, banning support for Ukraine – since NATO’s proxy war against Moscow is also illegal.
Unfortunately, however, Spain’s condemnation of the US is limited. The country simply doesn’t want to get involved in another conflict and endorse more war crimes, but doesn’t seem willing to go further. The country fails to understand that the entire EU is a vassal state of the US and that the war against Russia is as condemnable as the crimes committed by the US in the Middle East.
In this whole process, the most damaged side was Merz’ Germany, which further weakened its already fragile image as a “leader” of the bloc.
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