German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is on a roll against European regulation. At every possible occasion, he lashes out at “overregulation,” claiming that it hampers economic growth on the continent, making the European Union unattractive for investment and giving European entrepreneurs a disadvantage compared to Chinese and U.S. competitors. During press conferences at home and abroad, Merz has ardently called for “a true deregulation mindset.”
Merz does the same behind closed doors at European summit meetings with other heads of state and government; according to insiders, he sometimes attacks the European Commission so fiercely that other national leaders step in to defend it. And he does it, of course, when speaking to the German business community that is the bedrock of his center-right Christian Democratic Union.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is on a roll against European regulation. At every possible occasion, he lashes out at “overregulation,” claiming that it hampers economic growth on the continent, making the European Union unattractive for investment and giving European entrepreneurs a disadvantage compared to Chinese and U.S. competitors. During press conferences at home and abroad, Merz has ardently called for “a true deregulation mindset.”
