French President Emmanuel Macron and CDU chief Friedrich Merz agreed on a “new start” for the German-French relationship during a more than three-hour meeting at the Elysée Palace. They have agreed to “open a new chapter” said Merz to the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on Thursday. Merz had been invited to Paris by the French President on Wednesday evening. The exchange covered all areas of discussion, from defense to migration and trade policy and was exceptionally constructive.
“The agreements were still much greater than I expected” said Merz. He described the atmosphere of the conversation in Paris as warm and trusting, driven by the desire to move forward quickly in the face of geopolitical challenges.
Macron had invited Merz to the meeting on the evening of the election, returning from Washington with the conviction that Germany and France must act particularly in the area of defense. The exchange aimed to clarify the negotiation parameters. Macron is interested in the idea of establishing a second special fund for defense expenditures before the end of the legislative period.
At the same time, it was about damping the hopes of a relaunch of a European multi-billion fund for defense, modeled after the Pandemie-Fonds Next Generation Europe. The exchange also served the goal of better understanding the constraints of the other side and taking more consideration of each other, it was said. In the past, there had been a lack of this, so the mutual insight. An agenda has already been outlined.
Merz and Macron agreed that a “new era” had begun, in which everyone should ask what they could do for their country and Europe. There was great agreement on the transatlantic relationship. Merz had said in a television interview that it was clear that the Trump administration “does not care much about the fate of Europe.”
Macron reported to Merz that Trump’s expectation was that the security guarantees for Ukraine would be largely borne by the Europeans after a possible peace settlement. While France primarily wants to contribute militarily through possible peacekeeping troops, there is understanding in the Elysée Palace for Germany’s reserve. One of the most important security guarantees, however, is also the good equipment and ammunition supply of the Ukrainian army, in which Germany can still play a leading role.