German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been increasingly critical of the EU, while drawing closer to one of the bloc's biggest critics: President Donald Trump.

  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been growing increasingly critical of the European Union.

  • His tone marks a notable shift compared to his more EU-friendly predecessor.

  • Meanwhile, Merz has been building a relationship with EU-critical U.S. President Donald Trump.

The historically EU-friendly Merz, a former member of the European Parliament, now has a long list of complaints about the bloc. This has included objections to an increase in the EU’s new long-term budget that was proposed last month, as well as calling the bloc out for sluggishness and complex bureaucracy. Germany was also among the louder critics of the EU-U.S. trade agreement.

  • @Muscle_Meteor@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    41•2 days ago

    Wow… Imagine a German Chancellor complaining about buraucracy in the EU…

    That reminds me i need to make an appointment to go into to an office to file paperwork to change my address instead of just updating it online like a normal fucking country…

    • declaredreprimandEnglish
      3•1 day ago

      Yeah, the irony is palpable.

      I myself need to make an appointment to see if they will let me sign up for an unrelated appointment…

    • MîmEnglish
      3•2 days ago

      You actually can do that online. Did so myself some month ago.

      • @einkorn@feddit.orgEnglish
        7•2 days ago

        As registration is managed on a local level, this entirely depends on where you (are going to) live.

        • MîmEnglish
          3•2 days ago

          True. But it is available in quite a lot of places. In some states even all local agencies managed to switch to the federal service.

          If you are living in eastern Germany though, you are most likely out of luck. It’s… quite barren over there in that regard.