Merz: US-Israel-Iran conflict costs Europe over €100B in eight months

Merz's €100 billion figure reframes the Middle East conflict as a European economic problem, not just a regional security one — a notable shift in how a major EU leader is framing the cost of the war. The emphasis on energy prices as the transmission channel matters because it ties geopolitical risk directly to Europe's industrial cost base, and Germany's coordination through multiple diplomatic channels signals Berlin sees de-escalation as an economic imperative. Whether that framing translates into concrete European pressure for a swift conclusion, and whether energy-driven costs keep mounting in the interim, is the open question.