Macron and Merz talks focus on security and economic risks

Berlin/Paris — New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a reset in French-German relations to help Europe overcome the “enormous” security and economic challenges it faces during his first trip abroad since taking office to top ally France on Wednesday.

Hopes are high among European allies that Merz will restore German leadership in Europe after years of infighting within former Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-way coalition and its implosion in November.

The French-German motor that has traditionally powered the EU in particular appeared to falter during Scholz’s tenure. Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, both more European-minded and mercurial personalities with private sector experience, may prove to be a more dynamic duo, analysts say.

Europe must become more secure and competitive, which requires it to be more unified, Merz said at a news conference with Macron in Paris.

“We will only be able to meet these challenges if France and Germany stand even more closely together than in the past,” he said. “That is why Emmanuel Macron and I have agreed on a new Franco-German push for Europe.”

They would, for example, strengthen the Franco-German defence and security council, Merz said.

“We want to better co-ordinate our support for Ukraine within this framework, align our national defence planning and procurement projects even more closely, and also find new answers to questions of security and defence policy,” he said.

In a joint opinion piece in French newspaper Le Figaro, Merz and Macron said they stood ready to “contribute to a just and lasting peace [in Ukraine], with the support of the US on security and strong security guarantees”.

Merz said he could only give details on possible German security guarantees once there is an agreement “because we simply don’t know the conditions yet”.

Paris and Berlin will also accelerate joint programmes to develop new defence capabilities that go beyond combat tanks and long-range missiles, Macron said.

More receptive

Merz appears more receptive than Scholz to French proposals on European strategic autonomy and common defence, in part due to the growing unreliability of the US under President Donald Trump, analysts said before the visit.

He secured a historic fiscal package in parliament that would enable his government to dramatically increase defence spending even before taking office.

Differences between France and Germany remain, such as on an EU trade deal with South America’s Mercosur bloc, which Paris has resisted. But Trump’s policies, in particular his tariffs that have intensified the need for other trade partners, could push them closer together here too, analysts say.

“I know there are still some points France wants addressed in regard to these agreements, but I believe these are individual matters that do not call the whole into question,” Merz said.

The trip comes amid a bumpy start for Merz who was sworn in as chancellor on Tuesday. His unprecedented failure to be elected in the first round of parliamentary voting has dampened hopes the coalition of his conservatives and Social Democrats might prove more harmonious than Scholz’s government.

Still, Merz, who started his career as a deputy in the European parliament from 1989-94, has vowed to ensure his government speaks with one voice on the global stage — after years in which Scholz, his foreign minister and finance ministers all appeared to have diverse agendas.

One voice

For the first time in years, the chancellery and the foreign ministry will be run by the same party. Merz also wants to establish a national security council in the chancellery to better co-ordinate all foreign, development and defence policy.

Merz will visit Poland later on Wednesday, reflecting the country's increasing importance in European politics due to its key role in rallying support for Ukraine against Russia’s three-year-old invasion.

“I would hope for some common leadership in Europe,” a Polish government source said. “Germany has been somehow missing in these discussions over the past.”

The source said an important question was how Merz’s government planned to increase defence spending, noting it would make sense for European countries to buy equipment together.

Merz told state broadcaster ZDF late on Tuesday he would also speak with Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk about adopting a tougher European migration policy.

The incoming coalition has agreed to reject asylum seekers at Germany’s land borders, in co-ordination though, with European neighbours.

Reuters