BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that the Trump administration's new national security strategy underscores the need for Europe to become “much more independent” from the United States in terms of security policy.

Merz also pushed back against the notion that European democracy needs saving.

The U.S. strategy, published Friday, paints European allies as weak, while offering tacit support to far-right political parties, and was critical of European free speech and migration policy. On Monday, European Council President António Costa warned the U.S. against interfering in Europe’s affairs and said only European citizens can decide which parties should govern them.

Merz, the leader of the European Union's most populous nation and its biggest economy, said he wasn't su

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