Chancellor’s press conference after the European Council
Federal Chancellor Merz sees the results of the European Council as a powerful signal against geopolitical threats. The EU is strengthening its long-term support for Ukraine and paving the way for the world’s largest free trade area with the MERCOSUR--Mercado Común del Sur agreement.
- Transcript of press conference
- Friday, 19 December 2025
Federal Chancellor Merz expressed his satisfaction with the latest results of the European Council.
Photo: Federal Government/Jesco Denzel
According to Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the European Council provided a demonstration of its sovereignty in Brussels. “Europe has understood what the moment demands”, underlined the Chancellor in the press conference after the Council. The focus of the Council was on long-term financial support for Ukraine.
The European Council also negotiated Europe’s trade sovereignty. Despite many years of negotiations and recent reservations from individual member states, Chancellor Merz reported that a qualified majority had now been secured in favour of the MERCOSUR--Mercado Común del Sur agreement, meaning that Europe and Latin America were “moving closer together”. The future financing of the EU was also discussed at the meeting.
The most important facts in brief:
- Further support for Ukraine: The EU has agreed on a comprehensive financial package for Ukraine. At its core is an interest-free loan of 90 billion euros. “Ukraine will only have to repay this loan if it is compensated by Russia”, said Federal Chancellor Merz. Chancellor Merz actively welcomed the permanent freezing of Russian assets, which may be used for repayment should Russia not pay compensation by the repayment date. The EU Commission now plans to draw up further proposals for technical implementation.
- European trade sovereignty: For Federal Chancellor Merz, the EU‑MERCOSUR--Mercado Común del Sur agreement is an important signal “against growing protectionism and the lack of trade rules in the world”.‑ Chancellor Merz recalled that negotiations had been ongoing “for over 25 years” and had recently been delayed by reservations from individual EU member states.‑ He nevertheless appeared confident that the agreement could be finalised by mid-January 2026 at the latest.
- EU funding: Federal Chancellor Merz also referred to the first steps towards reforming the EU’s medium-term financial framework, which were discussed in the Council. According to the Federal Chancellor, the need to modernise structures and focus European funds more sharply on competitiveness and defence was central. This would require “a fundamentally new architecture for the European financial framework”.
You can find the conclusions of the European Council on 18 and 19 December 2025 here
Read the transcript of the press conference here (in German only):