Merz Tells Berlin Process Summit That 'Violence Must Never Be an Option' as Protests Spread Across Europe

Speaking at the Berlin Process summit in Montenegro, Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that violence has no place in Europe's democracies as unrest spreads across both EU member states and the Western Balkans, while reaffirming Germany's backing for the region's long-stalled EU membership push.

By Doug BrownPublished October 22, 20262 min read

Chancellor Friedrich Merz used a regional leaders' summit in Budva, Montenegro, to deliver a pointed warning about the wave of street protests spreading across Europe, telling attendees that violence must never be an option for either side in a democracy, no matter how deep the underlying grievances run.

The remarks, delivered at the Berlin Process Leaders' Summit, came as both EU member states and Western Balkan countries have seen a string of demonstrations in recent weeks, giving Merz's comments an unusually direct, present-tense urgency rather than the kind of abstract appeal to democratic norms such summits often produce.

A Warning About Rhetoric, Not Just Violence

Merz went beyond condemning violence itself, cautioning that divisive rhetoric and growing polarization will not lead to a safer, freer or more prosperous Europe. That framing put at least as much responsibility on political leaders and public discourse as on the protesters themselves, a notable choice given how many governments, Germany's own included, have faced criticism over how they've characterized recent demonstrations.

The Berlin Process and EU Enlargement

The summit itself brought together six Western Balkan countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, alongside EU partners, under the Berlin Process framework Germany launched back in 2014 to deepen regional cooperation and keep the path toward EU membership alive for the region.

Merz reaffirmed Germany's support for those countries' EU membership bids, but paired that endorsement with a pointed reminder that regional governments still need to show real political will and follow through on the reforms required to actually join the bloc, rather than treating EU accession as a formality.

Connecting Protests to Stalled Enlargement

Merz explicitly linked the protest movements visible across the region and in EU states to the broader argument for continuing the enlargement process, suggesting that tangible benefits for ordinary citizens, not just diplomatic progress between governments, are what will ultimately determine whether public frustration cools or keeps boiling over into the streets.

Why It Matters

Coming from the leader of the EU's largest economy, a direct call against violence paired with a warning about polarizing rhetoric carries weight well beyond the summit room in Budva. With protest movements touching both the bloc's existing members and the Balkan countries still waiting at its door, Merz's remarks read as an attempt to hold both camps to the same democratic standard, even as the underlying economic and political pressures driving the unrest show no sign of easing.