Overview
- The Franco‑German ministerial council near Cologne on Thursday moved from symbolic gestures to implementation by announcing concrete cooperation tracks and the creation of a joint steering group to run them.
- Officials outlined three technical workstreams focused on early‑warning radars, deep‑strike conventional capabilities, and missile‑defence systems as the core of the 'advanced deterrence' agenda.
- France stressed it will remain the ultimate authority over any nuclear use even as it expands conventional cooperation with Germany and proposed involving eight other European countries in the initiative.
- Paris and Berlin also launched an eight‑country coalition against ballistic missiles and linked the deterrence push to existing projects such as the ELSA deep‑strike programme.
- Beyond defence, the council advanced cooperation on industrial competitiveness, cross‑border work, media partnerships to counter disinformation, and a joint approach to the EU budget while many operational details and partner roles remain to be defined.