Building a strong European Union will be Germany's key policy task, the leader of the Social Democrats, Olaf Sholz, has said.
He added that this task will determine the country's international strategy and foreign policy.
He also shared his view of Germany's relations with the United States, saying that the transatlantic partnership is of utmost importance for Berlin.
"The transatlantic partnership is essential to us," Scholz said.
Good relations with the United States serve Germany's interests, the SPD head added, pledging to ensure continuity.
Good relations with the United States serve Germany's interests, the SPD head added, pledging to ensure continuity.
"The world is becoming more dangerous, and we must work together, despite having some differences," Scholz continued.
Back in 2018, German Chancellor Angela Merkel sided with French President Emmanuel Macron, who had endorsed the creation of an EU army. Then Merkel said that such an army could be "a good complement to NATO" while agreeing with Macron that Europe should no longer rely on the US.
Apart from this, Sholz commented on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, saying that everyone involved in the project should undertake obligations, while Ukraine should remain a transit country.
This comes following the announcement of the results of the parliamentary election in Germany, with the outgoing chancellor Merkel's conservative bloc, CDU/CSU, suffering a historic defeat with just 24.1% of the votes, while the Social Democrats led by Sholz, have won 25.7%. The Green Party came in third with 14.8% of the votes, followed by the Free Democratic Party (11.5%) and the Alternative for Germany party (10.3%).