Overview

• Friedrich Merz was sworn in as German chancellor after narrowly winning a second-round parliamentary vote, the first post-war candidate to fail in an initial ballot.
• On his first trip abroad, Merz met French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to strengthen European unity and cooperation on security and defense.
• Merz and Macron agreed to deepen Franco-German collaboration, including enhanced defense coordination and joint support for Ukraine, while signaling alignment on EU strategic autonomy.
• In Poland, Merz praised NATO’s eastern flank but faced resistance over Germany’s proposed border controls for asylum seekers, highlighting ongoing migration policy disputes.
• Merz criticized U.S. officials for supporting Germany’s far-right AfD party and urged the Trump administration to refrain from interfering in German domestic politics.