Merkel before the federal press conference: “The freer we will be again”

In her last federal press conference, the Chancellor called for further vaccination efforts and warned of a worsening of the corona situation. In terms of climate protection, Merkel admitted negligence.

Chancellor Angela Merkel used her last appearance in front of the capital’s press for an urgent appeal for more vaccinations against the corona virus. “The more people are vaccinated, the freer we will be again,” said the Chancellor. She warned of a renewed worsening of the situation in view of the exponential growth in the number of infections. Even those who hesitated should consider: “Each vaccination is a small step towards more protection for everyone,” Merkel said. “Every vaccination counts.”

At the same time, Merkel praised the German vaccination campaign. In an international comparison, a fast vaccination rate would have been presented. It was absolutely right to order vaccines only within the EU. “All in all, I would say there are many countries that are in a more difficult position.”

In view of the rising corona numbers, the Chancellor announced that the next prime ministerial conference on the corona pandemic would be brought forward. She will not ignore requests from the heads of government of the countries. The talks could be combined with the prime ministerial conference planned at the end of July and beginning of August to deal with the flood costs, she says.

Failure to protect the climate

In connection with the flood disaster, Merkel swore to make a joint effort to deal with the consequences in the affected areas. “We will need patience to repair all this damage,” said the Chancellor. There was terrible devastation from the floods, Germany mourned 170 deaths. The aim is to jointly finance the flood damage, said Merkel.

When it comes to climate protection, the Chancellor admitted negligence. Measured against the goal of limiting the global rise in climate to two degrees, “not enough happened” during her chancellorship. Therefore, the pace must be increased. Merkel also emphasized her personal commitment to the fight against global warming. “I am of the opinion that I have put a lot of effort into protecting the climate,” she said.

“And yet I am sufficiently equipped with a scientific understanding to see that the objective conditions require that one cannot continue at that pace, but has to get faster.” At the same time, the Chancellor pointed out that there was great resistance around the world to efficient climate protection – for example when the Kyoto Protocol was implemented in 1997. “I experienced a lot of disappointments at the time,” said Merkel. She had “used a lot of energy in her political life to find majorities for” that we could at least go this way. “This actually shaped her” entire political work “.

Merkel welcomes agreement in the gas dispute with the USA

Merkel described the agreement with the USA in the dispute over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline as a good step. Nevertheless, she pointed out that this would not overcome all differences, especially since the agreement only existed with the US government, but not yet with the US Congress. There are many critical voices in Congress about the pipeline that will bypass Ukraine to bring natural gas from Russia to Germany. “The Russian side has told me that they do not want to use energy as a weapon,” she added. “We are not defenseless.” Merkel pointed out that, if necessary, sanctions could also be imposed on Russia if Ukraine’s status as a gas transit country were to be jeopardized.

With a view to Germany’s future in an international comparison, Merkel said that the country would have to make an effort to be able to keep up with the USA in terms of investments. To do this, the research quota must be increased to 3.5 percent of economic output. The outgoing Chancellor sees Germany facing major challenges in the areas of modernization and future technologies. “We are a strong country, but we really have work to do in some areas to maintain the high standard that we have.”