Overview

• The meeting served as Macron’s official counter-visit to Merz’s May trip to Paris, signalling a renewed Franco-German partnership.
• Merz advocated waiting on retaliation until negotiations with Washington fail, aiming to shield key industries like automotive from US tariff hikes.
• They pledged to resolve leadership disputes in the FCAS fighter jet project and to deepen collaboration on space defence capabilities to bolster European strategic autonomy.
• Paris urged Berlin to adopt technological neutrality by classifying French nuclear energy as climate-friendly under EU taxonomy rules.
• Macron insisted on a robust agricultural safeguard protocol for the Mercosur trade pact while Germany pressed for its swift ratification.