Brussels – In the aftermath of his election as chancellor, Friedrich Merz visited Emmanuel Macron to reinforce the Paris-Berlin axis after years in which the French-German engine seemed to stall. Cooperation between the two major EU countries will focus especially on defence, but disagreements remain over some key issues that will take time to iron out.
Before travelling to Warsaw to meet with Polish Premier Donald Tusk, newly elected Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz made a short stop in Paris. The first official foreign visit of Berlin’s new head of government—elected yesterday in an unusually tense voting session at the Bundestag—was a quick meeting with Emmanuel Macron, to show the world that the so-called French-German engine, on which the European project has traditionally been based, has been restarted after having jammed during the chancellorship of Olaf Scholz.
The objective of the “reset” sought by the Merz-Macron pair (who, shortly before the meeting, had several European newspapers publish a joint editorial to “spread” their message) is to “make Europe more sovereign” by developing especially the Old Continent’s defensive capabilities. “I want to commend Germany’s decision to invest heavily in defence,” stressed the Elysée Palace tenant, referring to the new German chancellor’s mighty acceleration of military spending, which materialised in the historic debt-brake reform and call for the safeguard clause of the Stability Pact, as envisaged in the ReArm Europe plan.
We want to work hand in hand to relaunch the Franco-German reflex. pic.twitter.com/TjtWnbecFN
– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 7, 2025
Monsieur le Président then announced the imminent launch of a joint defence and security council between Berlin and Paris to “respond together to the challenges facing Europe.” That body “will meet regularly to provide operational responses to our shared strategic challenges,” Macron explained. Merz added that Germany is willing to discuss with France and the United Kingdom “nuclear deterrence” in Europe, specifying, however, that the latter should be understood as “complementary to what we already have with our American partners within NATO.”
The two leaders also reaffirmed their unity of purpose with respect to support for Kyiv, reiterating their rejection of any “peace imposed” on conditions dictated by the Kremlin. However, Merz certifies, Washington’s “continued involvement” remains crucial, something that “the Europeans cannot replace” and without which “we cannot end this war.” The Bundeskanzler hopes that the star-studded administration will “assume its responsibility within NATO and vis-à-vis Ukraine,” and assures that, “under the leadership and with the participation” of the U.S., the Europeans are ready to participate in monitoring an eventual ceasefire.
In this regard, the French president wondered if “the Russian president is finally serious” and intends to honour a genuine truce, more extensive and structural than the three-day break proposed by Vladimir Putin (and never accepted by the Ukrainians) to mark the 80th anniversary of the USSR’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. In the past few hours, Moscow and Kyiv have not stopped exchanging drone and missile attacks.
However, notwithstanding the commonality of visions between Macron and Merz on European strategic autonomy (a concept dear to the French head of state and to which the newly elected chancellor recently also had to convert, despite his background being that of a hardened Atlanticist) but there also remain not insignificant distant views between Paris and Berlin on such crucial issues as competitiveness.
One example is Mercosur, about which the French leader is highly sceptical, but which the German chancellor would like to see come into force “quickly”. But even in the area of defence, the positions of the two governments are not identical: Germany, for example, is still unwilling to accept Eurobonds, a common debt instrument that several member states, including France, Italy, and Spain, have long been pushing.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
