Overview

• The first Merz-era Franco-German ministerial council convened in Toulon, with plans to present eight strategic papers and roughly 20 flagship projects later today.
• Sensitive files were set aside for now, including the FCAS air‑combat program and Mercosur trade, with a joint press conference and a Defense and Security Council meeting scheduled for the afternoon.
• Merz has conceded the previous FCAS timetable was unrealistic, setting a year‑end target, while Defence Minister Boris Pistorius plans an October clarification meeting in Berlin.
• Implementation faces uncertainty as French Prime Minister François Bayrou will seek confidence on 8 September, a vote opposition parties signal he is likely to lose.
• In Würzburg, CDU/CSU and SPD leaders pressed a reform-and-growth agenda after unemployment climbed to 3.025 million, pledging tax incentives, energy cost relief, de‑bureaucratisation and stronger state capacity.