German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Europe needs to find a way to become a dominant force again to assert itself in a newly emerging world order dominated by a few power players.

Europeans will only be able to implement their ideas "if we ourselves learn to speak the language of power politics," Merz told German lawmakers as he was giving a foreign policy address in the Bundestag.

In recent decades, Europe has been the political force that has insisted on the rule of law as the basis for relations between states and peoples, Merz said. "We want to preserve all of this and continue to protect it in the future."

Touching on U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to acquire Greenland, Merz praised the united response by European NATO allies.

Trump walked back threats to impose tariffs in the dispute or even acquire the Danish-owned territory by force after European nations threatened counter-tariffs.

This experience briefly allowed Europeans to feel "the joy of self-respect," Merz said, adding that "this newfound self-confidence" must now be used to tackle further issues.