From Paris to Warsaw

Merz to Macron: 'Common nuclear umbrella with France and the UK'

The new German Chancellor on an official visit to the Elysée Palace to relaunch the Franco-German engine of the European Union, especially on defence. And then to Poland: focus on irregular immigration, but Tusk criticises border controls

by Gianluca Di Donfrancesco

7 May 2025

Friedrich Merz (a sinistra) ed Emmanuel Macron all’Eliseo (AP)

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A nuclear umbrella 'made in Europe': the day after his chilling nomination in the Bundestag, the newly appointed chancellor, Friedrich Merz, relaunched his proposal and did so from the Elysée Palace in Paris at a joint press conference with President Emmanuel Macron. With France and the UK, Merz said yesterday, 'we will give our ministers the mandate to start the discussion'.

The aim, the German prime minister emphasised, is not to 'replace the security guarantees offered by the United States', but to follow a complementary approach. Back in February, Merz had already invited Paris and London to discuss joint nuclear deterrence in the face of Donald Trump's openly anti-European turn and his rapprochement with Russia's Vladimir Putin, with the parallel disengagement from the conflict in Ukraine.

Macron stated that strengthening the 'European pillar of NATO' does not weaken the Atlantic Alliance, but rather represents 'a greater assumption of responsibility by Europeans'.

Defence in the Centre

Never more than in this bilateral, the dominant theme was defence. "We will accelerate Franco-German programmes and develop new capabilities," Macron explained, mentioning joint projects on tanks, combat aircraft and 'long-range missiles'. Paris and Berlin also agreed to set up a bilateral 'defence and security council' to address common strategic challenges, with a focus on innovation and preparing for the wars of the future.

The watchword of the two leaders of proven pro-European faith is to revive the Franco-German engine, without which the Union does not work. The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said he expects relations between Paris and Berlin to be easier than they were with Merz's predecessor, Olaf Scholz. In the new chancellor, the French government can finally find the backing it was looking for on increasing EU defence spending.

In Warsaw: immigration and rearmament

From Paris, Merz flew to Warsaw: it is a tradition for the newly appointed chancellors to visit the two neighbouring countries on their first day in office, to emphasise European unity from West to East. This time, however, the visits are particularly charged with significance, on the 80th anniversary of the capitulation of National Socialism. Yet, eighty years after the Second World War, Europe still finds itself with war on its doorstep and discussing rearmament. "Russia's aggression against Ukraine has shattered the illusion of guaranteed peace and security in Europe," Merz and Macron wrote in a joint intervention in Le Figaro.

In Warsaw, the German Chancellor met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The visit marks a 'new opening, perhaps the most important in the history of Polish-German relations in the last 10 years', Tusk said at the joint press conference.

Merz reiterated that he was "in favour of a relaxation" of EU budget rules to allow member states to spend more on defence, with a mechanism "similar to what has been done in Germany" with the debt brake reform.

Among the issues on the agenda was also irregular immigration. Merz promised immediate action to counter the phenomenon in Germany as part of the election competition with the far-right Alternative für Deutschland. The issue of migration policy 'is not a national but a European problem, which we want to solve together,' Merz said.

On this issue, however, things are not going smoothly between Germany and Poland, which have already clashed after the strengthening of border controls decided by the Scholz government. And Tusk reiterated the criticism, during the joint press conference: 'If someone introduces a check at the Polish border, Poland will do the same: it makes no sense,' he said.

"We will be tough on migration policies, but," Tusk said, "we need European solutions and this cannot mean that one country causes problems for another country". Poland, he added, "has practically closed the illegal migration route organised by Belarus, Russia and international traffickers. We expect full support'. Poland, Tusk went on to say, has taken on "the biggest burden with regard to migrants from Ukraine and with regard to investment in the defence of the EU's external border".

Gianluca Di Donfrancescoredattore
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Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Inglese
Argomenti: Germania, Fmi, Banca mondiale, economia e commercio internazionale, cambiamento climatico, e transizione verde
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