German Chancellor Merz: Middle East conflict severely hits global energy markets and supply chains

Merz's remarks carry weight because they frame the Middle East conflict as a European competitiveness problem, not just a regional security one — naming two chokepoints in the same breath signals that supply-chain stress is being treated as a structural condition rather than a temporary shock. The emphasis on business environment, private investment and EU trade expansion suggests Berlin is steering toward diversification and domestic resilience rather than emergency energy measures. The open question is whether this rhetoric translates into concrete EU trade action, and whether other European leaders echo the chokepoint framing in the months ahead.