Faced with a running clock on European exports threatened by US tariffs, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz emerged tonight as a united front in their response to Washington, but highlighted deep differences over a major European defense project.
The leaders of the European Union's (EU) two largest economies met for a working dinner in Berlin, and the three-hour conversation was "very intense, very friendly and full of trust," according to the German chancellor's office.
Paris and Berlin are keen to highlight the new momentum in their relations linked to the arrival of conservative Friedrich Merz as chancellor. This was the first visit by a French head of state to Germany since Merz was inaugurated in early May.
The focus of the meeting was on difficult trade negotiations with the administration of United States President (US) Donald Trump, which has set August 1 as the deadline for possible 30 percent tariffs on European exports to the US.
"The timing couldn't be better" to discuss this issue, stressed the Chancellor, who noted that "decisions" could be made immediately by the EU's chief negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, who defends the position of the 27 EU members, and his American colleagues.
While France is pressuring Brussels to take a firm stance to put pressure on Washington, other countries, such as Germany, are stressing the importance of de-escalation with the US.
Ultimately, the French president and the German chancellor "highlighted their common vision for the negotiations," a spokesman for Friedrich Merz said after the meeting.
Both "agree that they have other trade policy instruments if negotiations fail and are ready to develop new measures," he added.
However, Franco-German disagreement has been noted over the "Future Combat Aircraft" (SCAF) project, the EU's flagship defense project, whose development has stalled, while both Paris and Berlin each want to be the driving force behind Europe's rearmament.
The Dassault aeronautics group, which represents France in this project, has expressed doubts about the future and sustainability of the program, which is still far from any prototype construction stage.
Dassault is calling for a "real industrial leader" instead of the current structure of "three partners one by one," according to comments this week by Eric Trappier, the group's chief executive. On the German side, the project is being led by Airbus through its Defense and Space Division. The third partner is Spain. Friedrich Merz insisted on the need to "respect the agreements reached" on the division of tasks.
The SKAF's goal is to replace the Rafale in France and the Eurofighter in Germany and Spain by 2040.
In an attempt to avoid the complete failure of the program, the French and German defense ministers have been tasked with "assessing the realistic prospects for continuing cooperation within the consortium by the end of August and submitting proposals for resolving existing conflicts," the Office announced.
The plan is to draw conclusions at a Franco-German Council of Ministers on August 28-29 in Toulon, France, whose port is home to one of France's two main naval bases.
Paris and Berlin have also not resolved all their differences on energy policy, a long-standing issue, although some rapprochement is underway. France in particular insists on the concept of "technological neutrality" to treat nuclear energy similarly to renewable energy sources in EU regulations.
The classification of nuclear energy as "green" at the EU level was previously a major point of disagreement between the French and Germans.
Facing difficulties at home, where his coalition is in the throes of turbulence, the German Chancellor continues to strive to strengthen Germany's influence on the international stage.
Highly critical of the EU, whose work is hampered by its rules and internal squabbles, he is relying on strengthening relations with Paris and London, which he visited in July - like Emmanuel Macron, to encourage joint initiatives.
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