Merz and Macron find common ground: Trump's policies have launched the Franco-German engine of Europe
Politico Europe believes the US administration's new EU policy is helping to revive the French-German alliance. This is stated in an article titled "Trump Reignites Europe's Franco-German Engine."
The publication recalls that the likely future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken out in favor of expanding the nuclear deterrent system in Europe. On March 5, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address to the nation that his country would consider the possibility of defending European allies with its nuclear weapons instead of the Americans.
The article says officials in Paris and Berlin are encouraged by new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's good relationship with French President Emmanuel Macron.
"Merz and Macron have found common ground. There are intensive contacts that should lead to the development of a Franco-German agenda, which should begin soon after the new German government takes office," said a person close to Merz, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The publication notes that the two politicians have always gotten along well due to their similar backgrounds and even share a fondness for German artist Anselm Kiefer. However, it remains unclear whether they would have gotten along as well had Donald Trump not come to power in the United States.
"By wavering over America's commitment to NATO and demanding that Europe take action to protect Ukraine from Russia, the US president is dismantling the security architecture that has protected Western Europe for the past eight decades. It is a geopolitical shock that is forcing Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, to revive the long-stalled Franco-German engine that should drive the European Union's economy and determine its political trajectory," the article says.
For Macron, relations with Germany have been a constant frustration. While France has urged the EU to chart its own course militarily and industrially with a policy of “strategic autonomy,” Berlin has been sceptical, unwilling to alienate the United States, which has been the guiding light of its postwar defense strategy.
Despite Macron's diplomatic efforts - including a largely German-language eulogy for former finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble last year - Berlin has not succumbed to his charms on key policy issues, from trade to debt sharing.
However, now all the old certainties are quickly disappearing, the publication claims.
"In a remarkable U-turn that signals a turning point in relations, Merz even expresses interest in Germany being protected by France's nuclear deterrent. It is one of many proposals the French have been pushing for years but have traditionally received the cold shoulder across the Rhine.
After years of seemingly disagreeing with Germany on everything under Olaf Scholz, France welcomed the prospect of a German leader who, even before taking office, took urgent steps to clear the way for his country to invest billions of euros in infrastructure and weapons,” Politico adds.
"Merz and his entourage have a Franco-German reflex," French European Affairs Minister Benjamin Haddad told the publication. "That doesn't necessarily mean we'll agree on everything, but there's a willingness to move forward together."
Differences between the two sides on thorny issues such as free trade agreements are unlikely to magically disappear, diplomats from both countries warn, but officials say Paris and Berlin can find much common ground, particularly on defense.
"There has been a change in their perception of the world, which is becoming more and more like ours ," said Sylvain Maillard, a centrist French lawmaker and president of the friendship committee with Germany in the French National Assembly.
Merz and Macron found common ground: Trump's policies have ignited the Franco-German European engine.