It was a lightning-fast inaugural visit. Within just six hours, newly appointed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz dashed through a series of high-level meetings in Brussels — with European Council President Antonio Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Merz made his priorities unmistakably clear: supporting new trade deals, de-escalating the tariff standoff with the United States, curbing