Tariffs and conflicts loom large over Merz and Macron’s working dinner
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will host French President Emmanuel Macron for a high-stakes working dinner in Berlin on Wednesday, where pressing issues like incoming U.S. tariffs and the ongoing security situation in Ukraine are expected to dominate discussions.
The meeting, set at Villa Borsig in the leafy outskirts of Germany’s capital, unites the leaders of Europe’s two largest economies at a critical time. With a looming August 1 deadline imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump for the imposition of new tariffs, both countries are eager to coordinate their response, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“Of course, the question of how we react to the threat of tariffs on August 1 is a central focus, and also the security situation in Ukraine,” said Thorsten Frei, chief of staff to Chancellor Merz, in an interview with ZDF broadcaster.
The packed agenda underscores the significance of Franco-German relations, Frei added: “The fact that the agenda is so full shows that the relationship between Germany and France is not only good but extremely important.”
Merz, a conservative, has pushed for greater unity with France on a wide range of issues, from European defense cooperation to diplomatic engagement with Iran. He has also criticized his predecessor Olaf Scholz for what he perceives as neglect in maintaining strong ties with France.
However, tensions persist. Germany notably refrained from joining a letter signed by France and 27 other Western countries urging Israel to immediately end hostilities in the ongoing conflict sparked by Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023. While Merz has expressed increasing criticism of Israel, his chief of staff indicated that Germany found the letter insufficiently explicit in attributing the conflict’s origins to Hamas.
Another topic expected to surface during the talks is the future of the FCAS (Future Combat Air System) — a joint Franco-German-Spanish fighter jet project. The program’s fate has come under scrutiny amid growing disagreements with Europe’s aerospace giant Airbus over control and direction.
As the world watches the outcomes of this pivotal Franco-German meeting, the stakes for European trade, security, and defense cooperation could hardly be higher.
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