Merkel said after 2008 that ALL countries in the EU must have surpluses. It was like saying all teams in the NBA must win.

The world is a lot larger than the EU so there is no reason why that could not be the case.

I rememember in an econ book that we think that exports have the "world" to serve. But in reality most countries trade the most with those closest to them. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case for the majority of EU countries

Yes, but don't underestimate the exports that Germany is generating, between all of the high tech there and the car companies you are looking at a substantial exporter.

China is #1, the USA (all of it) is #2 and Germany (just Germany, not the EU) is #3. Have a look at their relative populations and appreciate that fully.

Asia is exporting too (Japan, China, Korea). Australia is exporting. The only ones not exporting, i.e. importing is Africa and South America and eastern Europe including Russia if you ignore their oil exports.