FINALLY! Angela Merkel admits Islamic terrorism poses 'greatest threat' to Germany
ANGELA Merkel has finally admitted that Islamic terrorism poses the biggest threat to Germany in her New Year’s message.
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The German chancellor described the Berlin Christmas market attack, which killed 12 people and injured 48 others as “sickening” and said 2016 had been a year of “severe tests”.
Despite the bloody and threatening attack, Mrs Merkel insisted Germany would not cower before terrorism.
She said: "As we go about our lives and our work, we are saying to the terrorists: 'You are hate-filled murderers, but you do not determine how we live and want to live. We are free, considerate and open.”
As well as the Berlin attack, perpetrated by Tunisian jihadi Anis Amri, Germans were also targeted in a number of terror incidents earlier in the year.
In June, a teenage Afghan refugee armed with an axe injured and slashed five people on a train in Wuerzberg.
Angela Merkel in pictures
Tue, November 29, 2016Angela Merkel has served as German Chancellor since 2005 and Leader of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000. We take a look at her political career in pictures.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the gala for the 200th anniversary of Werner von Siemens on November 29, 2016 at the historic headquarters of Siemens in Berlin [AFP/Getty Images]
![German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the gala for the 200th anniversary of Werner von Siemens on November 29, 2016 at the historic headquarters of Siemens in Berlin [AFP/Getty Images]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uW2byBeO98tzel8jFmGLpnhuz9Jvt318_OnAi0gZevGW0BnzpoPGk_U9SwFAdXqrKlO1Qd8An9EPPwu_l_oIpHbNDi5cylkbUWMszDZ3K6a3JXKMWUPdCZD6WX9z8afDe_2Z8xgVf9hQ=s0-d "[AFP/Getty Images]")
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And in July, a Syrian asylum seeker whose application had not been granted, blew himself up outside a bar in Ansbach and wounded 15 bystanders.
Despite mounting criticism over her decision to allow more than a million migrants into Germany last year, which many claim has increased the nation’s terror threat, Mrs Merkel defended her open border policy.
She said images of carnage from war zones such as Aleppo show how “important and right” it is for Germany to provide a home to those fleeing conflict.
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Merkel said: "All this is reflected in our democracy, rule of law and values. They are the opposite of the hate-filled world of terrorism and will prove stronger than it. Together we are stronger. Our state is stronger.”
The 62-year-old also tried to deter the German public from seeking independence from the European Union and emulating Brexit.
Although she described the EU as “slow and difficult”, Mrs Merkel said it “really can do better than the nation state”.
She added: “But no - we Germans should never be deceived into thinking that a happy future could ever lie in going it alone nationally.”
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