Merz acknowledges fresh tensions with France over FCAS fighter jet project
Conflicts over the joint Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter flared up again this week after France reportedly demanded a greater share of the work in the project, raising concerns among German firms working on the programme.
The next-generation fighter jet has been under development for a number of years but has been beset by tensions between key contractors, particularly the lead French and German aerospace firms on the project, Dassault and Airbus. Spain is also involved in the programme, with aerospace firm Indra leading its efforts.
Merz voiced his support for the overall programme, but said Germany is not interested in revising the deal on the fighter: "I absolutely want us to stick to the agreement we made with Spain and France with regard to FCAS."
The chancellor dodged specifics but acknowledged that "differences of opinion on the composition of the consortium" involved in the FCAS programme "have not yet been resolved".
He said there are ongoing "discussions" with France – including directly with French President Emmanuel Macron – over FCAS, and that he intends to "finally resolve this issue in the coming months".
Merz, who was speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Berlin, indicated that he remains largely committed to the project and said he was "confident" that all sides would succeed in reaching a deal over the fighter project, which is supposed to enter service around 2040.
"This could be a good project for European defence," the German chancellor said, adding that Europe currently lacks a viable replacement for some of its combat aircraft.
"If we can manage that, then this is a project that is still worth the political commitment," he said. "I am, in any case, confident that we will succeed, but we have not yet reached a result that definitively satisfies me."
(aw)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euractiv
an hour ago
- Euractiv
‘A slap in the face': EU leaders, industry reel from Trump's tariff shock
Donald Trump's announcement on Saturday of 30% tariffs on EU products has major implications for European economies, triggering a flurry of responses from national leaders and industries. The tariffs, which are a significant jump from the 10% baseline levy that is currently in place, are due to be effective from 1 August. Whilst the EU had previously indicated that it might be prepared to accept terms similar to those secured by the UK in May, the current "deal" has led stakeholders to reassess their stance. EU ambassadors will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon to discuss the response. But even on Saturday, reactions called for unity and stressed the bloc's trade strength – while urging Brussels to respond firmly to Washington's move. The US is the EU's top trading partner, with goods trade totalling €867 billion in 2024. Trump's letter is "impertinent and a slap in the face," said socialist MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, adding that the EU had been negotiating intensely "for more than three weeks." He added that EU countermeasures "should come into force as planned on Monday, quickly followed by the second list." France shared a "very strong disapproval" of the announcement of 30% tariffs on EU exports, French President Emmanuel Macron said, adding that Brussels should adopt countermeasures if no agreement is reached by 1 August. "It is more than ever up to the Commission to assert the Union's determination to defend European interests resolutely," he added. Brussels has repeatedly delayed retaliatory action in hopes of reaching a negotiated solution – despite the EU already facing a blanket 10% tariff since April, alongside duties of 50% on steel and aluminium and 25% on cars and car parts. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the EU should use its collective single market strength to achieve a 'fair deal'. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – one of the few EU leaders to enjoy cordial relations with the Trump administration – said she still trusted the "goodwill of all players" to reach an agreement. "It would make no sense to trigger a trade clash between the two sides of the Atlantic," she said. Hungary, expectedly, lashed out at the European Commission for not having secured a deal yet. "EU tariffs on the US should've been lowered after Trump took office," Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. Industry warns of severe losses German industry, which accounts for the largest share of EU exports to the US, was quick to react. "President Trump's announcement is a wake-up call for industry on both sides of the Atlantic," said the Federation of German Industries (BDI), in a statement quoted by AFP. The federation urged Berlin, the European Commission, and the US administration to "very quickly find solutions and avoid an escalation." Ongoing tariff threats have already driven German exports to the US down to their lowest level since March 2022, according to government data released last week. The EU's food and drink sector would also be among the hardest hit by a 30% tariff. Italy's wine association, UIV, said on Saturday that Trump's letter had written 'the darkest page in relations between the two historic allies.' The US is the largest export market for EU wines, accounting for 27% of export value and 21% of volume. If implemented, a 30% duty on wine would amount to an embargo on 80% of Italian wine exports, the group said. "At this point, the fate of us and of hundreds of thousands of jobs is tied to additional time, which will be crucial, because it is unthinkable to place these volumes of wine elsewhere in the short term," said UIV President Lamberto Frescobaldi. Alexandra Brzozowski contributed reporting. (ow)
Euractiv
7 hours ago
- Euractiv
New Caledonia's leaders reach ‘historic' deal on French territory's future
Political leaders in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia reached an agreement about the archipelago's future on Saturday. This includes the creation of a State of New Caledonia, which will be written into the French Constitution. The agreement allows residents of the territory to hold both French and New Caledonian nationality. It also sets out financial understandings with Paris to benefit the islands, located in the Pacific Ocean to the East of Australia. French Prime Minister François Bayrou, who has made overseas territories a priority since taking office last year, described it as a "historic agreement". Negotiations began in early July to draw up a shared vision for New Caledonia's future that will bridge deep divisions between the Indigenous Kanak population, who want more independence from Paris, and descendants of French settlers. In a post on X, Bayrou hailed the State of New Caledonia and paid tribute to the negotiators and specifically Manuel Valls, the French overseas minister. A statement by the two parties quoted by FranceInfo described the agreement as the beginning of a "new era of stability by formally bringing New Caledonia into the French Republic". Voting rights will be granted "to a large number of Caledonians and their partners," the text adds. In May 2024, unrest erupted in New Caledonia after the French parliament proposed a constitutional revision of New Caledonia's electoral roll, which the archipelago's pro-independence groups saw as a move to undermine their political weight. The violence left 14 dead, including 11 Kanaks, and caused an estimated €2 billion in damage. Sonia Backes, the leader of the loyalists – descendants of French settlers – said that while the compromise "would not fully satisfy anyone" it provides a way out of "the spiral of violence, uncertainty and destruction". "New Caledonian nationality takes nothing away from our membership of the Republic or our French nationality," she added. The agreement still needs to be ratified by Caledonians with a local referendum.
Euractiv
a day ago
- Euractiv
New normal: Fight over controversial judge reflects new era in German politics
Germany's consensus-driven parliamentary system has entered a more rough-and-tumble period amid a rise of the political extremes Euractiv is part of the Trust Project Nick Alipour Euractiv Jul 11, 2025 18:49 4 min. read News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. BERLIN – A row in the German coalition over a controversial high-court nominee has turned into a test of wills that reflects a new reality in the country's politics. The coalition government of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) was set to elect three new judges for the sixteen-member constitutional court in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, on Friday. But discord over the nomination of Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf – the SPD pick whose liberal views on abortion stirred opposition on the conservative benches – forced the partners to abandon the vote after several dozen Christian Conservative lawmakers threatened to oppose her. The failed vote is not just a blow to the cohesion of Germany's fledgling coalition, but to the authority of Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Jens Spahn, the leader of the conservative parliamentary group, both of whom had signalled they would support Brosius-Gersdorf's nomination. More broadly, the dissension in the conservative ranks so early in the term signals that the fractious climate that characterised Germany's previous coalition – and ultimately precipitated its collapse – is not, as many voters hoped, over. The centrist alliance holds one of the narrowest majorities in postwar history as parties on both on the far right and left have gained ground. That reality has led factions within both the CDU and the SPD, the two parties that have dominated German politics since the war, to abandon more moderate terrain in an effort to claw back lost ground. This week's battle over the court nominee is only the latest example of this phenomenon, and unlikely the last, as the coalition is expected to tackle a number of hot-button partisan issues in the coming years, including conscription and migration. Conservative values Brosius-Gersdorf, a 54-year-old law professor, has advocated liberalising Germany's restrictive abortion law, which criminalises abortions in some circumstances, though without rigorous enforcement. As part of an expert committee on abortion law reform, she argued for a blanket decriminalisation of abortion last year. She has also argued in favour of allowing vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, and publicly supported banning the far-right Alternative for Germany. Over the last days, right-wing actors had accused her of partiality. Conservative MPs – many of whom opposed liberalising abortion rules – have criticised her nomination, though mostly behind the scenes. Speaking anonymously, one lawmaker dubbed her "critical of life", another called her 'unelectable' and 'maximally unqualified' due to her vaccine position. Majority miscalculation Despite that opposition, both the chancellor and Spahn, the CDU's parliamentary leader, had insisted earlier this week that the Christian Democrats would back Brosius-Gersdorf. But on Thursday it gradually became clear they had underestimated the opposition within their ranks and would likely fail to produce the necessary two-thirds majority. After an impromptu meeting on Friday morning, the Christian Democrats officially asked to delay the vote on Brosius-Gersdorf, citing unsubstantiated accusations of plagiarism involving her doctoral thesis. The coalition then decided to postpone the vote, leaving SPD lawmakers fuming. The fate of the nominations is now in question. The SPD's chief whip, Dirk Wiese, said that he never would have thought that Germany could experience polarised debates about judge nominations like in the United States and Poland. 'The behaviour of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group today is in no way comprehensible to me,' said Macit Karaahmetoglu, a fellow SPD lawmaker and chair of the Bundestag's agenda committee. The opposition branded the failed Friday election a 'disaster' for the coalition, as Green parliamentary leader, Britta Haßelmann, put it. She blamed 'above all' Spahn and Merz for the impasse, adding that such an incident was unprecedented during judge elections. All eyes on Merz The evident split over abortion rights is putting a renewed spotlight on the stability of Merz's majority in parliament. Back in April, Merz did not garner enough support to be confirmed in a first round of voting – a t least 18 of his own MPs refused their support. He was still elected but only in an unprecedented second round. Support from the Social Democrats is also not a given. As a staunch conservative, Merz has long been somewhat unpopular with the SPD's leftist wing. This week's events are another indicator that social policy is increasingly becoming a bone of contention between the two governing camps. In recent weeks, the parliament's president, Julia Klöckner, triggered a controversy when she scrapped the parliament's official engagement in Berlin's annual pride parade – much to the dismay of SPD lawmakers. (vib, mk) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project Topics
