Between two German Eurofighter jets and two French Rafale jets, in a hangar at the Nörvenich military base near Cologne: this is the setting chosen by Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron to formalize the participation of the Bundeswehr in a French nuclear exercise. The first in history.
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The nuclear umbrella
Gathered for the bilateral Defense Council, the delegations have made operational steps in the plan, announced in March, to extend the French nuclear umbrella to Germany. The initiative includes the United Kingdom, the other nuclear power on the continent, and will be open to European partners who wish to join.
The military personnel of the two countries cooperated yesterday in aircraft maintenance activities, having conducted a joint in-flight refueling exercise the previous day. The Rafale jets, deployed at Nörvenich, are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The historic participation of German forces in French nuclear exercises is scheduled for autumn.
With the Nörvenich meeting, Paris and Berlin also leave behind the failure of the advanced combat aircraft project Fcas (Future Combat Air System), abandoned by Germany after years of hesitation and disagreements over the industrial project and national strategic priorities. However, not everything will be discarded: the two countries will continue to develop the jointly designed cloud solution. Yesterday, a work plan was also approved for cooperation in the European defense industry, particularly in air defense and long-range systems. Just a few days ago, together with other European countries and Ukraine, France and Germany launched the coalition for ballistic missile defense.
Between the Russian threat and NATO uncertainties
From Nörvenich, Merz, Macron, and numerous ministers moved to Augustusburg Castle in Brühl for the Franco-German ministerial council. In the end-of-meeting press conference, Merz emphasized that “the cooperation between Germany and France is essential at a time when Russia threatens our security, China severely tests our economy, and the transatlantic partnership has lost its taken-for-granted nature.”
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