Franco-German treaty a step toward 'European army': Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that a new Franco-German friendship treaty was a step toward the creation of a future joint European army.
Merkel said the pact aims to build a Franco-German ‘common military culture’ and ‘contributes to the creation of a European army’.
Both Macron and Merkel have pushed the idea of a joint European Army for the bloc that would be part of the wider NATO alliance.
US President Donald Trump late last year mocked both European powers by tweeting that ‘it was Germany in World Wars One & Two. How did that work out for France?’
Merkel in her speech also said that, as France and Germany seek closer political, economic and defence integration, they should also work on a ‘joint military industry’.
More from Defence Notes
-
Companies’ results boom as countries dig deep to buy missiles and air defence systems
Air defence systems are continuing to appear top of countries’ shopping lists but broadly across different capabilities it is a sellers’ market, as demonstrated by backlogs and double-digit percentage point growth.
-
Forging strong partnerships for warfighting communications in space (Studio)
Mike Moran, Director of US Government Business at Amazon Project Kuiper Government Solutions, highlighted the evolution of space as a critical warfighting domain at the Defence in Space Conference (DISC) 2025, held this week in London.
-
Details revealed on Germany’s big spending plans
In May this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government plans to position Germany as “Europe's strongest conventional army”. A new blueprint outlines how this is going to occur through massive investment.
-
European Council to deliver at “pace and scale” on European defence readiness 2030 roadmap
Two of the concrete projects outlined in the readiness report, the European Air Shield and Space Shield, will aim to be launched by Q2 2026.