Germany's Merz touts migration policy reversal amid Trump criticism

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he does not believe US President Donald Trump's criticism of European migration policy applies to Germany.

At a meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in Berlin, Merz said he has informed Trump repeatedly about his administration's new asylum and migration policies.

Merz said he plans to tell Trump that his government has been "very successful in roughly halving the number of asylum seekers in Germany."

"I suspect that he will also recognize that we have made a course correction in an area that has indeed been a considerable burden for us in Germany," Merz added. 

The comments are a response to Trump's recent tirade against Europe in an interview with news outlet Politico and the new US national security strategy.

The strategy, published late last week, paints a bleak picture of the situation in Europe with regard to migration, democracy and freedom of expression.

Merz said Germany can be relied on to cooperate with Washington if Trump "cannot relate to this institution or the structure of the European Union."

The United States remains a partner, the chancellor said. "I hope that America sees it the same way from its perspective towards Europe and also towards Germany."