German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to strengthen Franco-German nuclear cooperation during their meeting at Nörvenich Air Base near Cologne. Germany will participate in a French nuclear exercise for the first time later this year.

Merz and Macron chaired a session of the Franco-German Defense and Security Council at the air base. "We are strengthening European deterrence," Merz wrote on X. France is the only European Union member state with its own nuclear weapons on its soil, while Germany hosts US nuclear weapons on its territory.

In addition to Germany, eight other nations have agreed to bolster nuclear cooperation with France: the United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Merz and Macron also agreed to tighten cooperation on missile defense and long-range strike systems.

The two leaders pledged to continue developing a "combat cloud" system linking aircraft, drones, and sensors. This is the last remaining pillar of a joint fighter jet program that collapsed earlier this year.

At nearby Augustusburg Palace in Brühl, Merz, Macron, and ministers from both countries discussed the European IRIS-2 satellite network, joint artificial intelligence projects, and securing supplies of critical raw materials. Both governments aim to prepare negotiations on the EU's next long-term budget before the 2027 election year.

Merz welcomed Macron with military honors outside the palace. A French Rafale fighter jet and a German Eurofighter flew over the venue. The palace holds special significance for Franco-German relations: French President Charles de Gaulle proposed a friendship treaty to German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer there in 1962.

Source: www.dw.com